Baltimore Beginnings
by lNightWriterl
Summary: Yes, yes it is another one of those cliché "how Tony met Gibbs" stories. However, I did add a couple twists in it. Not Slash. Disclaimer: No, I do not own NCIS.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone (: So, I know that there are a billion differet stories on here of how Tony and Gibbs met. Heck, I just got done watching NCIS' "Baltimore" episode which shows how the two really did meet. However, after watching that I have to admit, that while it _was _really good. I was kind of disappointed. It wasn't nearly as dramatic or anything as I thought it might be... Though I suppose it would be hard to fit something like that into an hour long TV episode... No matter though! I decided to do my own little version that is actually going to be different from all the Fanfiction stories written on here...At least I think so...Haven't read them all... Either way, here is the first chapter (: Hope you enjoy!**

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~Chapter 1~

"You are lying!" Ziva said from her desk as she glared hatefully at the man across from her. Anthony DiNozzo simply smiled as he leaned back in his chair, smirking with a superior look on his face.

"It is true dear Ziva and I live to tell the tale." He told her and took the moment to grin at her as she clenched her fist threateningly.

"I do not believe you."

"But it's true."

"It is not."

"How much money are you willing to bet on that exactly?" Ziva opened her mouth to say a thousand but stopped when she saw Tony's grin widened drastically.

"We will see about this." She snarled and jumped up from her desk and made her way to the elevator, her partner following her with a smirk still on his face.

"You're just going to look stupid asking." Tony informed her as the elevator began to move.

"No. I will not. Because you Anthony DiNozzo are lying. I do not believe that this tale you tell is true. It is all puppy dog!"

"Poppycock." Tony corrected her as they left the elevator. "I don't even think that is an American term." Ziva not so surprisingly ignored him as she marched into the Autopsy room where Ducky, Palmer, Abby, and McGee where all standing around a cleared table. The four chatting quaintly as they sipped tea, Abby making a face after each mouthful of the drink.

"Oh…I did not realize all of you were in here." Ziva commented as Tony pulled up a chair and sat down next to McGee.

"Chickening out?" he smirked at her before he turned to the rest of the group "So is this where you all go when we run out of cases?" he asked "Why was I not invited?" he asked with feigned hurt. While Abby instantly jumped up and started crooning and consoling the Italian, McGee simply rolled his eyes.

"We figured you had paper work to catch up on." Tim shrugged "You never seem to get anything done."

"I resent that." Tony scowled over Abby's shoulder "I'll have you know I am a _very_ productive person Probie! I am like Rick Deckard, tracking down Replicants!"

"Who? Tracking down what?" Palmer muttered as he frowned at the Senior Field Agent in obvious confusion.

"Rick Deckard? Played by Harrison Ford? You know, in _Blade Runner_? Replicants as in the bad alien guys? Oh, come on! You have to have heard of this one!" Tony sighed as he let his head fall into his hands. "What have I done with my life?" he moaned "I work with people who don't know Rick Deckard is! Shoot me now!"

"That can be arranged DiNozzo." A voice said and Tony jumped as Gibbs walked in, coffee in hand. His eyes wandered over his team for a moment before resting on Tony for a bit longer.

"We got a case boss?" Tim asked.

"Nope." Was the only reply he got as Gibbs pulled up a chair next to Ducky. Tony glanced awkwardly at his boss and jumped up to get some tea from across the room. It had been tense between the two agents lately, with Gibbs coming back from Mexico and what not. Tony still had yet to tell him about his offered position in Rota…Not that he planned to ever really tell the man.

"Hey Gibbs…" Ziva started slowly "I have something to ask you, Abby, and Ducky." The three looked up at her expectantly as Tony choked on the tea he had started drinking.

"What?" Ziva smirked at him. "Did not think I would really ask?"

"I didn't think you would ask _Gibbs_." Tony said looking alarmed as he met the older man's glare. "I swear I didn't do anything." He added hastily at the look he got.

"Gibbs, did Tony ever head slap you?" she asked and there was a long pause before McGee burst out laughing.

"Ziva please don't tell me you _honestly_ believed that? Tony? Really?" Tim chuckled some more as he shook his head.

"Only once." Gibbs commented dryly as he gave his senior agent another look.

"Wait what?" Jimmy asked and McGee stopped smiling.

"Are you deaf Palmer?" Gibbs asked as Ziva's mouth fell open.

"What? You…He…_How_?" Ziva asked with amazement. Tony smirked and hit her on the back of the head.

"Like that." He explained cheekily as Ziva rubbed her head scowling before she grabbed Tony's hand and twisted it.

"If I remember correctly." Gibbs rolled his eyes "It didn't exactly go like that. You hit my face into a brick wall."

"I said I was sorry."

"You're lucky you're alive."

"Thanks for the concern Boss." Gibbs reached over easily and hit him on the head. Both of the men ignored the completely shocked looks they were getting from three of the five people in the room.

"I believe there has to be a good reason for this. Right?" Tony rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Relax Zee-vah. It was before I actually started working here… Back when I was a lone little Detective out in the streets of Baltimore." He let out a dramatic sigh.

"How _did_ you two meet?" McGee questioned "Or rather… How on earth did Tony get you to offer _him_ a job?"

"Actually," Gibbs smiled, obviously liking tormenting the other members of his team "the first time I offered him the job, he said no."

There was that shocked silence again.

"This is too much to take in, in one day." McGee sighed and ran his hand over his face as Tony turned to Ziva.

"How much money did you say again?" he asked her and she grabbed his hand, attempting to crush it.

"_None_" she hissed at him and let go, leaving Tony to flex his hand and pout.

"My, my!" Ducky said, clearly pleased. "I assumed all of this was known information! I would gladly tell you all how the two met. It was a rather late time of year I believe- around late December. I had just-"

"Whoa, whoa! I just wanted to win a bet! Who said we had to hear the _whole_ story?" Tony frowned as he regained use of his hand.

"Well Anthony, it is something that has to deal with the team doesn't it? I daresay if you don't want to hear it again you can leave." Tony glared and looked at Gibbs for support. However, at the moment he seemed to be fighting a losing battle with Abby who looked as though they were having the same argument.

"Fine!" he finally caved "but we are staying to make sure you don't screw it all up." The medical examiner smiled.

"Very well… Now where was I? Ah, yes! So it was around later December…"

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**So...How is that for a beginning? I'm not for sure how much I really like this idea so I need some input. Should I keep going or not?**

**Please review! (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh my gosh! I can't believe what wonderful responses I got to this story! I really hope that this lives up to your expectations... Thank you all for your awesome support (:**

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~Chapter 2~

***Ten Years Ago***

Alex Smith was an older man. He had worked with Baltimore P.D. for more than thirty years and was a pretty damn good cop. With dark hair and warm, blue eyes; it was clear that he was good looking and even more so when he was at a younger age. Tan skin had been aged to that it was slightly wrinkled and leathery looking but it somehow still managed to hold some life in it.

He was a husband and father of two- both daughters. He lived towards the far side of the city and was perfectly content with his life. As a Homicide Detective he was usually busy, which was how he liked it, yet had a decent amount of time with his family. Everything in his life was going all as planned- well…That was until December. That was when everything changed…

It had all started early one morning. Alex went into the office early, hoping to catch up on some reports he was behind on. As he sat down and began to work, managing to have a peaceful hour of productively finishing things he needed to get done before the door slammed open revealing his newly recruited partner.

Anthony DiNozzo was around his mid-twenties if that. He was young- _much_ too young to be a Detective. He was good looking and well in-shape. With a mass of dark hair and soft green eyes, he was someone that girls would flock to just to see if he was a real human being. He had been working with Alex for almost two years now- and _God_ had those been a long two years… Worth it though.

While Tony was young…and annoying in every way possible, he was good at his job. It was something Alex wasn't able to fully appreciate until he got his ass saved a couple times by the younger man. Over time the two of them went to a strained relationship to one built on complete and utter trust. It was something totally rare, and Alex was grateful for it.

"Morning." Tony said with his trade mark grin.

"Morning." Alex replied before adding "I'm guessing last night went well then?"

"As does every other night." Tony grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "It is official Alex. There isn't one girl I can't get."

"Be careful." Alex commented dryly "I don't think there is much room in here for your big head." Tony raised an eyebrow at him before throwing his case down on his desk and telling Alex that he didn't have a big head if it was the truth.

It was then that Tony did the unforgivable. Smirking, the younger detective brought out his ultimate weapon against his partner- a bag of Dunkin Donuts.

"What were you saying about my head?" he asked as he took out a chocolate glazed-Alex's personal favorite.

"That it is a very nice size and that it is telling you to hand me that donut along with some coffee now." Tony smiled for a moment and looked at the donut as though contemplating if he should hand over the sugary snack.

"I don't know…" he teased "I mean, I _might_ consider it if you took three of my cases off my hands…"

"No way, DiNozzo." Alex told him, his eyes still glued to the food in Tony's left hand.

"What a shame. I guess I'll have to eat this all by myself." He sighed and lifted it to his mouth before Alex's yell stopped him.

"Hey! I'm your senior DiNozzo! If you don't hand me that donut I'll put you on desk duty for a month!" there was a pause in which Tony stared at him in horror.

"You wouldn't." he said in complete shock and the older detective smirked.

"Try me." He invited and he could see Tony watching his face for the bluff. When he saw none, Tony threw him the treat, muttering in complete disgust.

"You better be nicer to me. Else I might just stay with those druggies." Tony growled at him as he pouted in his chair for being beating by the older man. Alex rolled his eyes. It was common knowledge within Baltimore PD that Tony was the best undercover agent they damn had despite not a lot of people were willing to admit it. Tony had been stationed to watch the activity of a drug group nearby a local park who were suspected of murder.

"Anthony, if you were to stay with those druggies, I would go there myself to kick your ass." He told him as he relished the first bite of his donut. Tony rolled his eyes at him but they both knew that Alex was being completely serious. Over the years the detective had begun to look at Tony as his son- and with Alex's own son having been killed when he was around Tony's age- it made him twice as protective over the younger man- no _boy_ as Alex often thought of him. Despite Tony's skills, he could never really wrap his mind around the fact that this _kid_ was supposed to be an adult. Something that thoroughly annoyed the homicide detective to a great extent.

"Hey…We got a case Alex." Tony said suddenly as he clicked something on his computer. "John Payne. Age 19 found on Southwest Street about twenty minutes ago."

"Let's go." Alex said through a mouthful of donut and jumped up grabbing his coat. Little did he know that it would be the last morning he and his junior detective would be able to argue about donuts.

* * *

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a happy man. In fact…he was a very _pissed_ man. A dead marine had been found in Baltimore that morning so he had been forced to grab his two agents and head out to the crime scene…Without coffee. It was not a known feeling for Gibbs to operate without coffee so when he swerved into Southwest street, he jumped up and headed straight to the coffee shop on the corner, leaving his two agents to sketch and shoot the scene.

That wasn't what had pissed him off though. What had pissed him off was the fact when he came back (coffee in hand) the two were _still_ standing there without a speck of work done!

"What the hell do you think I am paying you for?" he growled at them dangerously "Do you not understand the meaning of sketch and shoot? Is that _really_ that hard to understand?" he hissed. It irritated the man that he had to hold these idiots' hands every step of the way.

"S-sorry sir." Scotts, his newest probie muttered "I mean boss." He corrected quickly at Gibbs' look.

"The thing is we can't get in." Blackladder stepped up, her face determined. She had been with Gibbs longer than most, almost a year, and had gotten quite comfortable in standing her ground. Gibbs frowned at her.

"And why, Vivian-" he said using her first name just so he could see her cringe slightly "Is that?" The girl paused for a moment before shaking herself and holding her ground again, obviously not taking too much crap from her boss- one of her more positive aspects.

"The detectives here refuse to let us in." she said flatly and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. The detectives wanted to take their crime scene did they? He smirked to himself, knowing that he was about to have a fun little battle on a couple of two, unsuspecting, incompetent detectives.

"You still going undercover after this?" Alex asked his partner as he knelt down next to the newest victim.

"Yeah. Maybe those drug dopes know something about John Payne here." Tony said as he slid his glasses to the tip of his nose so that he could get a better look at the bloody body.

The person was laying spread eagle, blood caking his face and hands. The shirt had been ripped open and nasty slashes lay across the abdomen as some dog tags lay tightly on his neck, making it look as though the victim may have been strangled with them.

"There are some sick people in this place." Tony muttered as he walked to the other side and Alex found himself nodding with agreement. One of the nice things about his job was that he was able to make those people go away…Though it always seemed as though more kept coming back. However, it did make Alex feel better knowing he did put a good chunk of them away; ninety-six percent in fact. It was a remarkable closing rate. Especially for a place like Baltimore and its lack of resources and especially for someone who was working with someone as young as Tony…Though to be fair Tony solved probably sixty percent of the cases himself.

"Hey." Alex smirked as he looked up "Looks like the head of the feds is coming to talk to us."

As expected, Tony's head shot up, a look of pure excitement on his face. If Alex had learned only one thing about working with Tony…It was that he simply _adored_ ticking off Federal agents…Especially after the FBI incident.

"Oh bring it on." Tony smiled and put his sunglasses on as he watched the three agents walk up- the one up front looking abnormally pissed. Alex rolled his eyes and wondered if the three poor agents knew what they were up against.

"This is my crime scene." Were the first words out of Gibbs' mouth the moment he walked up to the two detectives.

"Hi there!" one of them said without any indication he had heard Gibbs. "Detective Anthony DiNozzo, Baltimore Homicide. Now if you don't mind me asking… Who the hell are you and what are you doing on _my_ crime scene?"

Gibbs turned and scrutinized the man who dared to come across him. He was young- in fact, he looked a little _too_ young. Around twenty-five or so with good looks and a cheerful aura.

Gibbs decided he hated him.

"Well then _Detective_. I am Special Agent Gibbs and these are my agents from NCIS. Now if you had done your job correctly than you would realize that this man here is a marine, therefore it would make it my crime scene." For some reason unknown to Gibbs, the man besides DiNozzo smiled slightly and shook his head as if Gibbs has said something slightly amusing to him.

"Ah, but you see my dear agent. This is the grand city of Baltimore! Perhaps you missed our lovely welcome sign back there. You know, the one that had the word '_Baltimore'_ on it? Either way, that makes it a _Baltimore_ case. Not to mention the man was from, lived, and raised in _Baltimore_. Also, he just so happened to be killed in _Baltimore_. Wait a second…Am I detecting a trend in here Alex?" he asked and Gibbs felt his hands curl. Who the fucking hell was this guy? Before he could speak- or rather punch though the other Detective spoke.

"Down boy." He chuckled "Remember Tony, play nice with the feds." The older man turned back to Gibbs and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry, but the kid does have a point. We aren't really planning on giving this case to you."

"Look. I don't know how to make this clearer for you. This. Is. Our. Case." At Gibbs' tone, many of the uniforms turned to him and slowly started backing away, looking fearfully at the silver haired man.

"If you want to fight for it" Gibbs continued "know that we _will_ win."

"Somehow I doubt that." DiNozzo smirked and calmly stated "You see, people tend to leave cases to more…uh competent people."

That was it. From the corner of his eye he saw his Scotts and Blackladder mouths' fall and a couple uniforms who were still within comfortable distance of the men raise eyebrows.

Gibbs paused before taking a step forward, going straight next to the detective's face and was surprised when the other man didn't back up.

"Are we going to have a problem here?" he said quietly, his voice now the only sound as almost everyone else went quiet. Instantly the man's body posture stiffened and he went almost completely still.

"No sir. I'm sure you will be able to explain to your boss why you aren't able to do this case." He said in such a tone that made Gibbs wonder that if the kid had military training of some sorts- of course with his obvious lack of respect and other qualities along those lines made the idea unlikely.

"The funny thing is." Gibbs said as he narrowed his eyes "We're _doing_ this case. No matter what a _rookie_ tells me." Next to DiNozzo, Gibbs saw his partner stiffen and he was sure that he had just crossed some kind of line.

"This _rookie_ has a ninety-six percent close rate and a pretty damn good chance of getting this case." He hissed back and Gibbs smirked slightly.

"I have a hundred."

"I'm sure that is _so_ hard for you to manage with all your fancy CSI stuff."

"NCIS."

"Do I look like I really care?" another moment passed in which the two stared steadily at one another. Finally, Tony's eyes left Gibbs.

Smiling, the lead agent stepped away, knowing that his current battle was won. From the corner of his eye he saw the medical truck pulled in.

"Be right back." He told the group, particularly the two detectives and walked to go see his medical examiner.

* * *

Tony was pissed.

He had never, _ever_ lost a game like that. Ever. Anthony DiNozzo simply didn't lose. Especially to know-it-all feds. Scowling, he turned to Alex who was currently shaking his head at him in frustration.

"What?" he snapped, but his partner simply rolled his eyes.

"Tony, I know you don't like Feds too much but… you do know if we fight we will lose the case right?" he said it low enough so that the remaining agents couldn't hear, but Tony made no effort to conceal his voice as he responded back.

"We won the first time."

"Luck."

"And the other three?" there was a pause and Alex hesitated before answering.

"Tony…Well…After the joint investigation with the FBI….Most of them were, well, curious." He said carefully and Tony frowned.

"About what?"

"You"

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Alex sighed as he ran his hand over his face "You ridiculed the FBI, locked up a serial killer, and caught his accomplice on your fifth week on the job. Tony the reason why they let so many cases slide is because they would stay and watch how you worked." There was a pause in which Tony let the information digest. Part of him knew he should feel slightly flattered by these words, but… He didn't. In fact he was fucking angry. What the hell?

"Agent Gibbs." Alex said as the silver haired man approached with a shorter and older companion. "I would like to propose that we do a joint investigation. I-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony said, cutting his partner off and bluntly ignoring Gibbs. Alex stopped for a moment before sighing.

"Because I knew you would be upset and there was nothing you could do."

"I should be able to know if someone is _watching_ me."

"A smart cop like you should be able to figure it out." Gibbs interjected sarcastically, but was ignored as Tony looked at Alex expectantly.

"Later Tony ok?" was the only response. Obviously still pissed, Tony backed down, his eyes still flashing. Alex turned back to the older man and gave a weary smile.

"Anyway, as I was saying. If we keep fighting for the case like this then we will lose time on catching the sicko that did this. We aren't going to sit here and let someone else do our work for us and by the looks of it, neither are you. So I suggest we just work together for this one case before both of our boss's decide to kick out asses for taking too long." There was a long pause in which Gibbs seemed to be digesting the words piece by piece. After a series of unreadable expressions on his face, the other man finally seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Fine." He hissed out "but on a few conditions. We get to use our forensic scientist and medical examiner."

"Done." Alex said "We get access to all your leads and technology. Also, Tony and I are going to lead."

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, hell no to the third. I lead. No argument."

"We lead, you get credit."

"I lead, you get credit."

"Ugh, for the love of god this is taking too long!" Tony finally butted in "Special Agent Gibbs and Alex will lead and we share credit. Good?" there was pause in which both men turned and looked at the homicide detective before Alex spoke.

"How about… You and Tony lead?" In surprise, Tony turned to his partner and cocked his head, looking slightly like a lost dog.

"Me?" he asked "you'd let me _lead_?" his voice was full complete and utter bewilderment.

"You've done it plenty of times before."

"Yeah but…Not with feds." He said giving Gibbs a look of distaste.

"Fine. We share the lead. We share the credit. We basically share everything but we can use your office and our resources. That about cover it?" Gibbs asked and when he got two nods to affirm, he set off with Blackladder and Scotts trailing behind.

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***Present Time***

"Wow…Talk about a stony start." Ziva said as she leaned forward onto the table.

"Rocky, Ziva." Tony corrected as he threw a ball up in the air and caught it. He looked at his teammates with a sheepish grin before saying "I wasn't exactly the best with feds back in the day. I called it a wonderful gift being able to tick them off."

"You excel at it DiNozzo." Gibbs said scowling, no doubt sore over the review of Ducky's story. "Which actually reminds me…" he leaned over towards Tony, who was attempting to balance the ball on his nose now and whacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! Jesus Gibbs!" Tony groaned as he rubbed his head. "That was like what? Ten years ago? I think we can let it slide."

"Don't think so DiNozzo. If this story keeps going though, you might want to purchase yourself a helmet." Scowling, Tony picked up the ball from the ground and gave Ducky a nasty look.

"So…To summarize it all up… We have a dead Marine from Baltimore and Gibbs came with two incompetent agents for the case. We have Tony, who sounds like he was still an ass back then, and his partner also wanting the case. Tony uses his magic and ticks of the boss over there and in the end, end up doing a joint investigation."

"Sounds about right McGee!" Abby bounced "Ooh! Do I come in soon? I remember meeting Tony! I poked him in the eye with a straw!"

"You never said sorry for that by the way." Tony commented and jumped as he was assaulted by a hugging Goth barreling towards him.

"I'm so, so, so, sooooo sorry!" she cried as she hugged Tony who was gasping for air "But you just made me mad, and when I'm mad I do mean things sometimes and you made me mad. So when you made me mad I did a lot of mean things and I never did say sorry because I was mad…Though I was only mad for a little bit so I guess I should have said sorry but I didn't really like you until beat up that guy in the hallway and then jumped that other guy to get me a Caff-Pow."

"A bit violent there Tony?" Ziva said as she shook her head at her fellow agent.

"You jumped a guy for a Caff-Pow?" Tim asked in utter shock.

"Hey. Meeting Ducky was worse. He ran me over."

"You ran him over?" Ziva cried out and Gibbs suddenly let out a small laugh.

"I remember that." He said "You didn't even care you were hit by a truck. You thought your hair got messed up." Gibbs paused as his mind reenacted his Senior Field Agent's face as the he popped up after getting hit and frowned. If the Team Leader was completely honest with himself, his memory was still whacked from the explosion. Part of him was actually grateful for Ducky's persistence in telling the story, considering that he could only remember bits and pieces of it.

"We aren't to that part of the story yet!" Ducky said grumpily at the long interruption.

"Sorry Duck." Tony yawned "Please go on and don't forget to mention my amazingness."

"You had amazingness back then Tony?" Ziva asked "I wonder where it has gone…"

"Oh haha. You are just hilarious Ziva…But as the people on _Anchorman_ would say 'I'm kind of a big deal' so you should know my amazingness has always and will always be here." Ziva sneered over at her partner and then turned back to the medical examiner.

"Go on Duck." She said stretching out and Ducky gave a huff at _finally_ being able to move on with the story.

"Well you see the complications started a little while later. Anthony was scheduled to go undercover and get information from that drug gang on the case. Unfortunately for him though, Jethro was unaware of his cover, creating quite the disastrous outcome…"

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**Well there you have it! Chapter number dos :P lol. I hope it was as good as everyone thought it would be...I'm actually kind of nervous right now! That actually reminds me, if any of you are willing to Beta or know anyone who can beta for me, I was thinking about getting one. I usually just write and post, but I was doing some thinking and figured that I wouldn't be able to catch all my mistakes. Plus, it is always good to have a fresh set of eyes go over it. Anyway, pleaseeeeeee review! Thank you so much (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't think I can thank you enough! I can't believe the amount of reviews I got on the last chapter! I was so happy that I was literally dancing around the room (No joke, my brother thought I was crazy). Because of all your persistence, I managed to post this chapter earlier than I thought (: I probably won't be able to post again until Sunday because I have to go to England in order to visit some of my cousins and the plane ride takes FOREVER! :P Also, I would like to thank my reviewer who caught one of my mistakes the last chapter. I fixed it though, so no worries (: I accidentally made Tony say something along the lines of 'that was twenty years ago' when it was in fact, only ten :P In my defense though, I was watching Rekindled so I was thinking about college Tony. Oh, one more thing before I forget! There might be some language in this story...Ok, maybe a lot. Would that still make this a K+ story or should the rating go up? Thanks!**

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~Chapter 3~

***Ten Years Ago***

Tony yanked his orange hoody over his head, purposely messing up his hair as he did so. He looked into his computer screen, attempting to catch his reflection in the monitor.

"How do I look?" he asked Alex from across the room "Would I fit the standard druggie look?"

"What's the difference?"

"You wound me!" Tony cried and flung himself to the ground with a wailing cry. There was a pause in which Alex rolled his eyes and Tony recollected himself after a moment.

"When do the feds get here?" he asked as he hopped up, grabbing his bag (which just so happened to be Spiderman themed).

"In a couple minutes, you better go. I don't think we should tell them about you undercover until we are for sure it is a solid lead. I'll call you in about three hours to tell you what the medical examiner found- I guess he is coming here for a bit."

"Yeah homie! I totally feel you bro!" Tony said as he slumped over to his partner's desk. Alex looked up at him for a second before shaking his head and pointing towards the door, Tony pouting all the way.

"Don't get shot." Was all he said and Tony waved merrily before disappearing out of the building. Alex chuckled and bent his head back over this case file, his eyes wandering over the information on the case.

"Something funny?" a voice asked and Alex didn't even bother to look up at the annoyed tone.

"Not to you, Agent Gibbs." He said flatly and gave a small glance up.

"We've done some research and found a lead." Gibbs continued and then raised a hand when Alex looked up with interest "However, before I tell you, I want to look a little more into it."

"Why don't you ask me? I could 'look a little more into it' for you." Alex said, his voice bordering a dangerous tone. Gibbs didn't look the least bit worried though, and merely smiled before plopping himself into Tony's desk and glancing around it.

"Not very organized is he?" he commented dryly, looking at the mess cluttered around the area. A mighty mouse stapler sat on top of a mountain of disheveled paperwork, a bag of doughnuts pushed hastily to the side.

"That's a good thing." Alex responded "When Tony's desk is clean, that means he is brooding. When he is brooding, that means he is usually about to do something really stupid. When he does something stupid he ends up doing something reckless. When he does something reckless that gets us a one way ticket to the hospital…So…Long story short it when his desk is clean, we end up with a concussion, gunshot wound, something along those lines."

"How often it clean?" Gibbs asked.

"Once a week." Alex chuckled slightly and Gibbs snorted.

"Figures." He said. Alex shrugged and Gibbs looked over him carefully. He didn't like working with local LEO's. Not. At. All. He wanted to this investigation his way and so far, these people were making it damn near impossible.

Without another word, Gibbs got back up, deciding to check out his lead real quick before sharing. Grabbing his coffee he left the office and jumped into his black sedan smiling at the fact the rest of his team weren't around to bother him. Scotts was busy trying to do something on the computer with Abs while Blackladder was talking to witnesses.

The drive was surprisingly short and peaceful without anyone else in the car to bother him. Gibbs watched as the nicer part of the city began to fade into the darker, more roughed edged areas. He pulled in closer to the large opening over by what looked to be an abandoned factory of some sorts. Three men stood near the gates, picking their nails with knives as he pulled closer towards them.

"What do you want?" Gibbs looked at the gruff man in front of him and flashed his badge. The older man couldn't help but smirk as he watched the blood drain from the creep's tattooed face when he saw it.

He had learned that there was an infamous gang around Baltimore that was under the radar for murder as well as drugs. He wanted to see if they were connected with his Marine.

"Just to ask your people a couple questions." He told the guy as he got out of the car and watched the rest of the supposed 'gang' run around, shooting hoops. Gibbs was fairly certain that interviewing them should be easy enough. The drugs were obviously inside the factory. If he stayed away from the building, there wouldn't be a problem.

The men themselves were all spread out. About twenty members overall, running up and down a homemade court. Some sauntering around the sides, talking to one another.

"Damn DiCapre! Can't you let us have the ball?" one shouted and Gibbs watched as one of the men dunked the ball into the net before grabbing it and spinning away towards the other end of the court.

"Gotta get it first!" the man yelled, stealing the ball and shooting again.

"Hey!" he called out "NCIS, we need to ask you all a couple questions." Most of the men turned to him and groaned, slinking over to him in already utter defeat. Judging by their reaction, a police interview was a regular thing with them. It was a wonder how the hell these guys haven't gotten busted yet.

"This better be good officer." One of them hissed "We be in the middle of our game! No liking interruptions over here. That right DiCapre?"

"Yeah man. Why are you bothering us anyway? I thought the police is gone now." Another said as he carried the ball forward, bouncing it agitatedly. He walked a couple more steps before freezing for some reason. Gibbs glanced up at the guy, about to demand that he take off that stupid hood so he could get a look at his face before the guy broke into a jog into the other direction.

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled but instantly the guy went to a full out sprint. "Damn it!" Gibbs cursed and started chasing after his man. "Freeze!" he tried yelling again. The guy was fast, he'd give him that. Scowling, Gibbs raced forward more, trying to figure out the best way to catch the guy. Noticing that he was spinning out towards the corner of the building, Gibbs ran around hiding behind a Corvette that sat parked in the empty lot. Smiling, he saw the man emerge, going full speed at the car. Gibbs took a minute to wait, listening as the drug member sprinted faster before the agent jumped out.

"Damn it!" the guy yelled and the two struggled, Gibbs noting that they guy seemed to have a basic idea how to fight. He heard the guy trying to say something, but Gibbs wanted to make sure the Dirt Bag was in cuffs before he listened. A firm hook crashed into his jaw followed by another kick to his gut, sending him sprawling away. Gibbs flung himself right back, managing to snag the man's foot and throw him down onto the pavement, where he was met with DiCapre's shoe in his face. There was a moment where the two grappled for another minute or two before Gibbs threw his whole body on top of the kid, hauling him up roughly. He threw him onto the hood of the car, and grabbed the cuffs, managing to bind the man's wrists together.

"Why did you run?" he grunted as he heaved the man up to spin him around.

"Cause you were about to blow my cover!" Gibbs froze as he looked into the angry eyes of Anthony DiNozzo.

* * *

***Present Time***

"You arrested him?" Ziva demanded incredulously back in the Autopsy room. Tim and Palmer were staring wide eyed at Tony as Ducky smiled fondly.

"Yeah." Tony said rubbing his wrist "_and_ he almost blew my cover." He added vehemently. Gibbs simply shrugged.

"You should have told me you were undercover."

"You should have told Alex what your lead was." He muttered under his breath, but silenced quickly at the looked he was getting from Gibbs.

"You know, I'm enjoying this story." Snickered McGee "It isn't every day you hear that your boss beat up your partner."

"Hey, I was totally winning that fight!" Tony objected.

"Which is why I had you pinned on the car in cuffs right?"

"I _let_ you win." Tony defended and Gibbs silenced him with a simple look. After grumbling for a couple minutes Tony shrugged it off, secretly pleased that he and his boss were working their way back into the playful banter they had, had before Gibbs went AWOL.

"Shouldn't Vanessa come in soon?" he asked and Ducky's face brightened.

"Aw! I remember Jethro meeting dear Vanessa…Quite the charming lady." He smiled and Gibbs scowled, trying to remember a 'Vanessa'. He had a flash of an image of a girl with dark hair and blue eyes shaking her finger at his Senior Field Agent.

"Girlfriend Tony?" Ziva smirked and Tony laughed at the comment.

"Oh God no… You'll see." He added with a wink. Ducky smiled and shook his head, clearing his throat to continue you on with the story before the sound of doors opening interrupted them.

"Hello I just…Oh. Hi." The new comer squeaked as she entered in hesitantly. "Uh…I just wanted to get some papers signed."

"Why Agent Lee! Welcome my dear. We were just telling the most wondrous story about how our dear Anthony met Jethro. It is quite a thriller. Would you like to join us?"

"There's a spot right here!" Jimmy added helpfully, pushing McGee out of the way to make room for their guest.

"I…I um suppose." Michelle blushed "Only for a bit though, because I have to get back down to legal in a moment." She added pointing towards the door to validate her point as she gave Palmer a confused look, and watched as he gave a helpless shrug in response.

"That is quite understandable dear!" Dr. Mallard smiled. "Now where was I? Ah yes! Right after Jethro arrested Anthony-"

"And didn't take off the cuffs mind you." Tony added glowering. "You would think that after finding out I was a cop he would take them off right? No! He threw me in the back of the car like…like a criminal! And I had to leave my baby there with the druggies until Alex drove me back to get her!"

"Yes, yes Anthony." Ducky sighed "You made quite the ruckus getting your car back. Anyway, things started to get interesting when they got back the department. You see that was when pieces of the clues started to appear on the case…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"I can't decide whether to laugh or cry." Alex sighed as Gibbs dragged Tony in, the cuffs still on.

"Get me out of these damn things!" Tony growled and Alex shook his head, gesturing for Gibbs to release his partner.

"Had to keep appearances." Gibbs smirked as he undid the cuffs "Meant you had to keep the cuffs on a bit longer." he finished with a small smile as he clapped the younger man on the back.

"I need coffee." Tony sniped heatedly and grabbed a Styrofoam cup, pouring the black liquid. Alex watched with quiet amusement as his partner took a sip of the coffee, sighing in relief.

"I'm assuming your lead was the Drug Gang?" he asked the agent.

"Yep." Was the only response he got up and took the coffee from Tony's hand and downed it.

"Hey!" the younger man snapped and attempted to grab the cup back, but Gibbs back was already retreating to across the room.

"Do you think it is possible that any one of those men did it?" he asked calmly as he took another gulp of the coffee.

"Possibly." Tony grouched "I've been monitoring them for about two months now. I managed to befriend their leader now so that he trusts me, but I don't know if he is willing to spill if he's done any murders yet. I need a couple more days." Gibbs paused and nodded thoughtfully.

"One of my agents called and gave me some basic information. Looks like the victim was last seen at his girlfriend's house."

"What did the girl have to say?" Alex asked and Gibbs took another sip of coffee.

"That's the thing. She's in the Bahamas right now. The witness says he went to her house that night, even though there was no one home."

"Robbery?" Tony suggested, pouring himself another cup of coffee.

"His record is clean." Gibbs countered, shaking his head "His friends say that he is also a really hardcore Christian. Doubtful that he would be something immoral."

"Could just be a cover."

"We talked to the priest. He says that the guy was there at least twice a week and really dedicated." Alex nodded slowly as Tony yanked out another file from his desk and brandished it dramatically.

"Well, while you were talking to his friends. I was talking to his enemies." He announced "I decided this guy had to have _someone_ who didn't like him. Turns out that him and his family didn't get along too well. He had really unstable parents. Both were drunks and both weren't even biologically his. Payne was adopted. When he found out, he kind of went a little crazy and got into a huge argument with them. His Dad and him threw a couple swings and then told him if he ever came back they would kill him. The guy was only fifteen." There was a pause in which Gibbs noticed that DiNozzo's voice really held some sympathy and sadness. With a nod, he flipped open his phone and pressed number one of his speed dial.

"Hellllooooo! This is the amazing, lab extraordinaire Abigail Sciuto! Welcome to my humble laboratory. How may I help you this fine evening?"

"Abs, I need you to look up John Payne's phone records for the past couple weeks."

"Sure thing Bossman. I also got some more for you if you want."

"I'm all ears."

"Well, the guy who did this wore gloves. So there are nada fingerprints. However, I did manage to find out what weapon was used to scratch up Payne's stomach. Guess Gibbs! This is really weird… I'm serious. Guess."

"A knife." Gibbs muttered into the phone, sighing.

"Nope. _Claws_. Like…Bear claws. Weird huh? Though…Oh…Gibbs that poor bear! Cause I mean, I don't think there are any bears in Baltimore, right? So that means that they must have cut off the bear's hand! Aw… Gibbs I hope you get this bear cutting sicko. I don't like him." There was a pause in which Gibbs attempted to digest the information he just heard. Without a response to Abby, he snapped the phone shut and looked at the two Detectives.

"You have any bears around here?" he asked as the two gave him disbelieving looks.

"Um…No. This is Baltimore. Not Oregon." Tony told him with an odd look.

"My forensic analyst just told me that the marks on Payne's stomach came from a bear." He said solemnly.

"Then he must be wrong." The younger detective shrugged and Gibbs eyes narrowed drastically.

"_She_ is never wrong." He said in such a stoic voice that Tony blinked in surprise.

"O-kay then. Let's go look for some hunters in the area then." Tony nodded and grabbed his gun.

"Actually, I want to talk to some of Payne's family members. You two go ahead." Alex said, smiling at Tony's horrified face.

"Uh…Maybe I should stay too." He said and Gibbs walked over, taking the man's coffee from out of his hand for the second time and pushing him towards the door roughly.

"Come on Sherlock." He growled and took another gulp of Tony's coffee.

* * *

**Huh. I had problems writing this chapter…-_-…It was mean to me. I'm also having some problems trying to plot right now -_-. I was looking over my original sketch and then changed a few things because I added in some more ideas and what not. Then I had to rearrange everything...Then I got mad and started yelling at my computer. Now my brother thinks I need therapy *shrugs*...He could be right. lol. Please review (: They really do make my day! (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone (: Greetings from England! I managed to get this written on the plane ride here and am posting this as promised. Thank you all for your inspiring words and reviews. Whenever I see them it makes me want to jump up and get another chapter written. **

* * *

~Chapter 4~

***Ten Years Ago***

"I hate you." Tony pouted from the passenger seat of the Sudan, his bottom lip sticking out. Gibbs vaguely wondered if he was _trying_ to mirror the appearance of a five year old. If he was, the older man would be the first to admit, he was impressed. The kid looked like an overgrown toddler.

"Suck it up." He told him and the Detective crossed his arms and sniffed indignantly.

"You threw my phone out the window." He sulked and Gibbs groaned.

"If I had to hear you talking to that girl for _one_ more second…" he trailed off, letting the threat hang. They had been together for about twenty minutes and it was hard to tell just who was more sick of the other. About three minutes in, Tony had taken his cellphone out and called just about everyone on his contact list, including a list of girls that he would flirt with excessively until the NCIS Agent chucked his phone out the window. Needless to say, Tony had sulked for the next ten minutes of the car ride.

"We're here." He snapped as they pulled up to the next house on their list. Tony's eyes brightened as he jumped out, almost running ahead of Gibbs to get to the door first. "Jeez." He muttered under his breath as he watched Tony literally bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement of exiting the car.

Roughly, he shoved the kid aside and knocked harshly on the brightly painted door, hoping the kid would shut up.

"Hello?" a girl peeked out around the door and gave a shy smile when she saw the two of them. "Can I help you?" before Gibbs could speak, Tony had already pushed his way up and smiled with obvious charm.

"Hi. I'm Detective DiNozzo." He grinned at her "You can call me Tony though. We're here to talk to a Robert Peace?" The girl opened the door wider, flashing her teeth as she brushed back her hair.

"He's my brother." She said sweetly "And…He's not exactly home right now…You can still come in and ask me all the questions you like." She told him, leaning heavily into the doorframe. Tony let out a little wink and skirted past her into the door.

"Why don't you wait outside Gibbs?" he asked over his shoulder and before the Marine could even respond, the door was slammed in his face.

Oh God. He was going to _kill_ DiNozzo the moment he walked out of that door. He was going to break every damn bone in his body, and then fry the remains before giving them to Abby in order to get rid of the forensic evidence.

He was going to-

"Hey Gibbs!" The older man hissed as Tony exited the house, a couple papers locked in his hand.

"What. The. Hell." He growled out and shoved him into the side of the house. "We are on an investigation and you are having _sex_ with potential _suspects_?"

"Technically she wasn't a suspect. Her brother was. And is. I got a lot of nice information out of her. No, I didn't use sex by the way. Get your head out of the gutter. I didn't even touch the girl." Gibbs fumed for a second before marching his way over to the Sedan, waiting for Tony to climb in.

"Robert Peace won't be back until Thursday seeing as he is on a hunting trip. Guess he goes out to this game reserve way out yonder ever couple months and hunts deer, squirrels, and bears too." He shrugged "Turns out that Robert left the same night John was murdered. We're going to need a warrant to look through the house, although I did see that there was a shed in the back that, according to Marie, held all of her brother's hunting trophies. She also said that if there was any questions to call her…Home phone on the back." He added, winking as he showed the piece of paper. Gibbs growled for a moment but didn't comment. Fine. So maybe the kid did _one_ thing right. God damn good for him.

"We're going to NCIS." He stated flatly and the younger man blinked.

"Uh…Why exactly?" he asked in obvious confusion.

"To get the autopsy report and talk to our forensic specialist. Any other stupid questions?"

"You know, I get the feeling you don't like me."

"Shut up." Gibbs snapped and to his relief, the Detective did just that…For about ten minutes.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Mark Harmon? Because you kind of do."

"Who?" Gibbs sighed, automatically regretting his answer- or even answering at all.

"Mark Harmon! You know, the American actor? He was in _Worth Winning**.**_ The 1989 film starring Mark Harmon, Madeleine Stowe and Lesley Ann Warren, directed by Will Mackenzie. It was written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott, based on the novel by Dan Lewandowski." He rattled on.

Holy crap, the guy never stopped talking...What the hell did this even have to do with the case? Oh, that's right. It didn't. Damn local officers.

"Are we there yet?" Tony suddenly asked and Gibbs gave him a dark look, daring him to talk again. Unfortunately, the kid didn't seem to get the message because he asked again...And again...And again. Finally Gibbs exploded.

"Have I stopped the car?" he growled.

"No..."

"Then we aren't there!" he practically yelled and pushed the pedal harder.

"You know, you're driving really sucks. We almost hit eight people, three cars, and a cat." In response, the car was jerked to the side, causing the younger man to flail into the side of the car. "You're going to get us killed." he grumbled.

"You keep talking and you'll meet the same fate as your phone." Finally, that got him to shut up. Gibbs sighed as the silence began to grace the car and gradually began to relax slightly. Hm…Maybe this won't be so bad after all…

"Are we there yet?"

Then again…

* * *

The moment the car stopped, Tony tumbled out and started kissing the ground enthusiastically. Truth be told, he hadn't been entirely for sure he was going to make it to NCIS alive. This Special Agent Gibbs character sure did know how to break some laws for a government employed navy cop.

The man himself brushed past the detective, making no comment to the juvenile and (in his opinion) overreacting behavior. Sighing, the Italian worked his way back up to his feet and clambered after his newest (and temporary as far as he was concerned) partner.

The headquarters were large and fancy looking. Bushes trimmed perfectly and cleaner than a hospital if the strong smell of cleaning supplies was anything to go by. Tony had to admit, he was kind of looking forward to see a government investigating building. Were there going to be stealthy rooms with spy gadgets hidden in the walls? Or maybe top secret operation plans shown in holograms? As Tony sat there daydreaming, he barely noticed walking into the building and straight up to a rather scary looking man who regarded Tony with obvious disapproval.

"ID." He growled and Tony blinked at the relatively large man who had put a hand out to stop him from entering the elevator.

"Uh...I'm with him." he said, jerking a thumb towards Gibbs who simply looked at him in return.

"ID." the guy said again, glowering now. Tony frowned and went for his badge and wallet.

"You know, a please would get you a long way in this world." he said as he grabbed his driver's license out of his wallet. The man paused for a second before adding a very hesitant and gruff, 'Please' to his statement.

Tony smiled and gladly brandished his items at the security guard and watched as he looked at them critically for a moment.

"They're real." the detective informed him solemnly "Though you might want to check Gibbs'… I'm pretty sure that after experiencing his driving, his license can't be real. Of course he could have held the instructor gunpoint...Or maybe he just looked at him with that creepy, scary look...That he is giving me right now...Ok I'm going to shut up now." The security guard blinked at the short monologue for a moment, before letting a small smile slip onto his face and handing back the card and badge.

"Nice to meet you Detective DiNozzo. The name's Mick." he said, jerking a thumb to himself.

"Nice to meet you Mick. Hey, you did you know you kind of look like Vin Diesel? You know that one actor? He's in like- twelve of my favorite movies. There's this one where- OW!" the rest of his sentence was cut off by a yelp as Gibbs had apparently felt the need to grab his upper arm and drag him to the elevator.

"Hey, hey, hey! I do not need an escort thank you! I'm not a kid." he snapped as he jerked his arm from the older man.

"Could have fooled me. Next time, I'll drag you by your ear." he threatened darkly and instantly Tony was silenced, though not without another nasty look towards Gibbs. The elevator went smoothly up and Tony vaguely wondered where the music was before the loud ding announced their arrival.

"BOSS!" a squeaky voice screamed and Tony jumped as he was assaulted by a scrawny man in overlarge clothes.

His hair was unnaturally mousy and his eyes looked like someone had taken a ballpoint pen and dotted them on. There was a brief spark of recognition as he realized that this was one of the agents that had been with Gibbs in the crime scene.

"Uhh...Sorry!" he yelped as he backed away from Tony, only to stumble back. Tony reached out a hand and caught him, making sure the guy could stand without falling before letting him go.

"What is it Scotts?" Gibbs growled and Tony watched sympathetically as the agent winced away from his voice and attempted to stumble over his words.

"Uh...I...Abby...Abby says she wants you, sir. I mean boss!" he squeaked out and Tony frowned. The poor guy looked scared to death and with Gibbs giving him _that_ look, he really couldn't blame him.

"Hi." he said, stepping in between the two men. "I'm Tony. I think we met a while back at the crime scene. Sorry I was kind of a prick then. It was nothing personal against you or anything. I just wasn't exactly a huge fan of you-know-who over there." he smiled as he jerked his head back towards the man behind him.

"Hi." the man said sounding as though he was going to faint "I'm...I'm Sam." he replied nervously and Tony blinked. Didn't Gibbs just call him Scotts a second ago? Perhaps that was his last name...?

"Sam Gavotte" he finished as he shook his hand and Tony almost shook his head. Jesus, Gibbs didn't even know this poor man's name!

"Come on DiNozzo! We got to go talk to Abby!" Gibbs snapped, pushing his way across the room. Sam froze for a second as though debating on whether or not he should follow.

"I'll take one for the team Sam." Tony told him solemnly "Stay here and live. You seem like a good guy." the man gave a shaky laugh as he looked towards Tony gratefully and shuffled away, leaving the detective to shake his head and wonder randomly, who the hell picked the color for this place.

* * *

Gibbs strolled into the Forensics lab, scrolling down his contacts on his phone. Huh. His name was Sam? Since when? On his phone he had it as Scotts...

"GIBBS! Gibbs! Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" a voice screamed and the Agent wasn't for sure whether his ears or body was attacked first as heavy metal music and a Goth greeted him roughly.

"What have you got Abs?"

"Oooh! So much! I have- What happened to your face?" she asked and Gibbs frowned. His face? He touched his jaw and had a brief flashback of DiNozzo hitting him before Gibbs managed to cuff him earlier. Damn, well there was going to be a bruise now, and judging by Abby's face, it was going to be a shiner.

"Got into a fight with my latest partner." he told her and watched as her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Gibbs?" a voice asked. Tony stumbled through the door, looking bewildered as the screaming music hit him. "What-?" he froze, looking over the place skeptically before allowing his eyes to settle on Abby. They widened for a moment and then he shook his head and smiled, holding out a hand as Abby turned the music down.

"Hi. I'm Tony. You must be...Abby right?" he asked, but the Goth simply glared menacingly at him and took her old Caff-Pow off of her computer, sipping it without letting her cold eyes leave Tony.

"Yes." she finally said icily "I am. Have a problem with that?" Gibbs smirked as Tony's smile turned into a look of confusion for a second and shook his head.

"No, of course not!" he said and Abby cracked her knuckles, or at least attempted to, seeing as she yelped at the first pop and then turned back to her favorite NCIS agent.

"Ok!" she said, her tone totally chipper now "So here is what I got! John Payne had like, no DNA or fingerprints on him _at all_, so the person cleaned up really good. _However_! I did use my wonderful Abby magic and find out that the scratches on his stomach came from a full grown Black Bear. My guess is that it was a female bear and the murderer had knelt down and dragged the claws over him...Which sounds really weird right? I mean, who would take a bear claw to try to kill someone? Oh, and I ran the dog tags around our Marine's neck. Like I said, there was no finger prints or anything like that. But guess what? No don't guess, cause I'm going to tell you! The back of the chain is broken. It looked as though Payne tried to rip them off before he was killed. I also looked up the guy's phone records" she gushed out and pressed a button on her computer so that the records showed up. "Nothing too kinky. He called his girlfriend a couple times, some friends, and job interviewers. Looks like he was planning on getting a job in psychology. Did you know he had a doctorate? Fancy, huh. He's kind of like Ducky- well at least I think he is, I've never actually met him…Oh! The only weird thing I found was he got this one number calling him continually, but Payne never answered. I ran said number and got…Drumroll please!" there was a pause in which Abby waited patiently for Gibbs to hit the table a couple times before continuing "Markus Payne! AKA his Dad. Seeing as they hate each other, I don't know why he called a total of…Thirty-eight times over the past week."

"That's good work Abs." Gibbs told her quietly and brandished a rather large looking cup. Tony frowned and cocked his head slightly to the side.

"What's that?" he asked curiously and Abby's eyes tightened noticeably at his voice.

"A Caff-Pow." she told him sweetly "You want to try some?" she asked and thrust it towards him, though instead of aiming for his mouth, she stuck it higher up, managing to get the straw of the drink to attack the unsuspecting victim's eye.

"OW!" he yelped and stumbled back as Abby smiled and took a sip of her drink smugly.

"Oops." she smirked and step forward as if to help him, only to trod on his foot instead. With platform shoes? So, not fun.

"Ah!" Tony cried again and this time, he managed to grab the nearest cabinet for support. "What the-" whatever he was about to say was cut off by Agent Blackladder entering the room.

"Boss? Ducky is coming back from Baltimore PD. He wants you to meet him outside." She said, glancing curiously at Tony who was now nursing his new wounds.

"Take DiNozzo. I'll be right there." Gibbs nodded and Tony threw the Goth a terrified look before scrambling after Blackladder faster than any of the three NCIS employees thought was possible. With a sigh, he turned to the forensic scientist and looked at her expectantly.

"Educate me Abs." he said and Abby grinned, pulling up a photo of Alex Smith and began to talk a million miles per an hour.

"Alexander Sheldon Smith… What a horrible name. I mean seriously, if you look at his initials-"

"Abby."

"I know." She laughed and continued "Was born in Compton, California. Moved when he was ten to Virginia. Graduated top in his class at the police academy and went to Baltimore PD. Been working there ever since. He's fifty-three and Married to Mrs. Scarlett Smith. His oldest child was Bryan Smith, but he was killed when he was twenty-six in a shoot-out when he became a cop himself. He also has two daughters who are still alive. Vanessa Smith who is twenty-three and getting a degree in law at Stanford as we speak and Rachel Smith who is twenty-one. She is engaged to a Mr. Parker Blakes and is a student at Duke University. Now say thank you."

"Thank you. What about DiNozzo?"

"Ah, well he was a bit trickier. You see, Anthony Dimitri DiNozzo Jr. here has a lot of confidential and sealed files that I may or may not be in the process of hacking into right now…Not that you know anything like that." She winked. "Here's what I got so far though. Junior here is an only child of a freaking millionaire extraordinaire! He was born and raised in New York in this big ass mansion. His Mom, Robyn DiNozzo or more commonly known as Robyn Paddington was an English actress. However, once she met Anthony DiNozzo Senior, a well-known business man, she fell head over heels and followed him back to America, where they had a bouncing baby boy. Bad news though. Robyn suddenly became a pill addict and alcoholic when Tony was around one year old. Her and her husband filed for divorce five years later, but for some reason, it was cancelled another two years later when Tony was eight. I don't know why…Yet. After that, Senior married nine more times. Nine Gibbs! That is more than even you! I won't go through them all though…Anyway, then there is nothing for another ten years. Tony eventually got a scholarship to Ohio State for Basketball and also made the Football team. He majored in Phys Ed but also took some other classes too. Psychology, criminology, international law, bio-terrorism, and one computer course… Though he only just passed that one. The rest he got perfect scores on his final exams. He graduated number one in the police academy, but refused to be recognized publicly for it… Seems a little of character there doesn't it? Moving on. He started out in Peoria, then two years later went to Philadelphia. Two years after _that_, he moved to Baltimore where he is now. Lots of commendations, praises, and awards. However, there are lots of reports saying he is reckless, too young, and not mature…That I can believe. Either way, his files for Baltimore are sealed. Don't know why for that either. I'm hacking- er investigating that now as well. I'll call when I'm finished." Abby concluded and Gibbs smiled and kissed her.

"I owe you three more Caff-Pows" he told her and strolled out of the room.

* * *

"So…How do you like working with Gibbs?" Vivian asked as the two walked out into the parking lot, waiting for the Medical Examiner to appear.

"He is…unlike anyone else I have ever met." Tony frowned "Did you know he called Sam, Scotts?" he asked her she frowned.

"Sam? Isn't his last name Scotts?"

"Gavotte." Tony corrected and the agent made a face.

"Oops." She winced "I knew his first name, but we really don't spend that much time together to be honest. Gibbs goes through Probies like shirts."

"Probies?"

"Probationary agents…Kind of like rookies for you guys. Gibbs hasn't held a single agent longer than a couple weeks- months if you're lucky. So far Stan Burely holds the record for working with him. Five years."

"How long have you made it?"

"My first year mark is coming up this week." She told him proudly and he couldn't help but grin at the self-satisfied look she wore as she made the comment.

"Congrats." he told her and she gave him a shy smile in return. Tony looked her over momentarily. She was pretty. Wild curly hair and soft skin had always been more of his style.

The rest of the wait, they talk lightly about different topics. Gibbs, the case, Sam…Or Scotts, whichever you called him. She told him about life as an NCIS agent and in exchange he told him his tales as a police officer and then detective. He was in the middle of explaining how he ended up in a strip club arresting a plumber when Gibbs walked up, silencing their conversation with his mere appearance.

"Ducky here yet?" he asked and Tony couldn't help but inquire about the thing that had been bothering him ever since Vivian rescued him from that crazy chick's lab.

"Why do you call him Ducky?" he demanded and while Vivian chuckled at his almost accusing tone, Gibbs simply glared- or maybe not. Tony was beginning to think that his face just looked like that.

Before either of them could answer though, there was a loud screeching of tires that screamed through the parking lot. From somewhere to his right he heard a deep voice yell something along the lines of 'No doctor! I said right! Right!' before he felt something hard throw him back on the hard asphalt.

"Gerald!" someone shouted "Look what you made me do! I hit that young man! Dear me, good thing I have the truck already… Not that I hope he is dead by any means. Young man? Hello? Can you hear me?" there was a tapping on his face, but Tony could barely feel it. His head was pounding and his eyes wouldn't seem to open.

"Ugh." He groaned and tried to blink.

"Well look at that Gerald! You didn't kill him! Hm…Let me look over the chap right quick."

"With all due respect, doctor. _You_ were the one driving." Another indignant voice spoke deeply affronted. If there was a reply, he didn't hear it though as he was suddenly attacked by something cold on the back of his head.

"Ah!" he yelped and sat up, almost fainting as the dizziness overwhelmed him. His eyes zeroed in on a man with a floppy hat on, his elderly frame more pronounced with glasses and a polka-dotted bow tie.

"I…What…Did you mess up my hair?" he sputtered out, not really for sure what else to say. The smaller man blinked at the question and turned to a dark man who was knelt beside him, looking at him as though expecting a translation.

"No my dear lad. Your hair looks quite fine. Though you might have a concussion and your arm here needs stitches. Why don't you hop into the back of my truck and we can take care of that." Tony blinked again and shook his head.

"I don't like doctors." He muttered and attempted to get away, but for such a small man, he was strong. He somehow found the guy pulling him towards the back of the dreaded truck.

"Well that, young man, is quite an unfair stereotype to make. You very well might like me." He soothed, though Tony highly doubted that he would like the man who just hit him with a truck.

"You- You're Ducky?" he asked, trying to clear his head as he winced away from the needle that was brought out.

"Very good! Doctor Donald Mallard at your service. Though most call me Ducky. I quite prefer that name above others."

"You work for NCIS?"

"Yes lad." There was a pause in which Tony threw his hands up in the air in complete exasperation, causing his arm to sting some more, but he ignored it.

"What is with you guys and trying to kill me?"

* * *

"Well Jethro, here is the play by play." Ducky spoke as he continued to sew up DiNozzo's arm. "John Payne was killed by the dog tags. Choked to death with them to be precise. The marks on his stomach occurred slightly before that, and if left alone, he would have bled to death several hours later if left unattended for. I looked at his arms and nails which had a series of defensive wounds. I sent more samples up to Abby. She'll call you when she finds out anything more. Anthony, be sure to thank Dr. James for letting me use your autopsy room. Oh, and also tell your partner I quite enjoyed talking with him- We must see each other again so I can finish telling him that story about the Indian dancer I met in Bulgaria."

"Duck." Gibbs cut him off and the Scotsman gave him a small wink before helping him off of the truck.

"I would suggest you get some rest dear Anthony. Your concussion is very mild, but still there. Ice it when you get home and mind that you don't get those stitches wet."

"Thanks Doc. You're not as bad as other doctors." Tony grinned and clapped him on the back.

"_Ducky_, my boy and I told you, do not stereotype. It is very narrow minded of you." He scolded and the Detective laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind." He promised and then turned to Gibbs and Blackladder.

"Can we leave now? Not that I haven't enjoyed this and all but…You people that work here scare me."

"I hope that concussion of yours gets you to shut up."

* * *

***Present Time***

"You hit him with a truck…" Ziva said thoughtfully as she leaned back on her chair. Ducky glanced up sheepishly at her for a moment.

"Gerald was the one who was telling me where to go." He shrugged helplessly.

"But you didn't see a man standing there?" Lee demanded, sounding horrified "He could have sued you! Or-"

"Wait a second!" the group turned to an outraged looking Senior Field Agent. "You left out the part where I jumped the guy for the Caff-Pow!" Tony said looking slightly betrayed.

"Anthony. That happened the second time you went to NCIS. After you went and got into the rather scary argument with Jethro." Ducky said, shaking his head at the younger man. Tony on the other hand, shook his head stubbornly.

"Not uh. I remember because it was right before you ran me over."

"No it wasn't. After you jumped that poor, naïve man we all went out to eat afterwards." Ducky argued and Tony frowned, tapping his finger against his forehead in an effort to remember.

"Maybe your right. It was right before I beat up that other dirt bag for Abby right?"

"Precisely." The elderly doctor agreed and finally the Italian seemed to accept the answer.

"Carry on then." He told him, waving his hand with much more flourish than necessarily needed. The doctor chuckled slightly and leaned back slightly in his chair as he ignored the other confused looks from the NCIS employees, allowing himself to get more comfortable before he continued.

"Ah, well on the way back to Baltimore, Jethro and Anthony had quite the adventure. You see, they both decided to play hero at once when a danger presented itself, which created a very interesting scene…"

* * *

**Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon... I hoped you guys liked this one (: If I got anything wrong, then just tell me so I can fix it...I also got a review that was slightly concerned that I might make Tony a "perfect" detective. Which is a reasonable concern. We can't have Tony perfect because then he wouldn't need Gibbs! Don't worry though, Tony is going to make a few investigating mistakes soon as well... That also reminds me! If any of you guys have suggestions on things to add into the story, please, please, please tell me! I would love to add in some things you guys came up with! Now I must go though :( Apparantly I must go learn how to speak Arabic or something...My cousins are so weird...Review please! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't updated as fast as I usually do. I had some severe writer's block during the "hero scene" with Tony and Gibbs. I wrote at least five different scenarios but each seemed...well...bad. It was either too overdramatic, or not dramatic enough. Not realistic or to the point that I was thinking 'well anyone could do that!'...So yeah. Problems with this chapter. I also had to try and equalize Tony and Gibbs hero time which also gave me some problems...Eh. Well I think it all turned out ok, but of course you guys are the judges of that! Read and tell me what you think (;**

* * *

~Chapter 5~

***Ten Years Ago***

"Your turn." Gibbs blinked and looked heavenward, wondering how on earth he had gotten himself into this mess. His mind flashed back to about twenty minutes ago. While watching Gibbs almost have an anxiety attack Tony had bombarded him with questions to keep the older man's mind off of the horrific and unavoidable traffic. As a result of his pestering, Gibbs had agreed to answer _some_ questions. Only under the conditions that he got to ask some of his own as well though.

Truth be told, it wasn't a bad deal. Gibbs was curious as it was about the detective after Abby's background check. He wondered vaguely what the rest of her results would bring, though in the meantime, he could just settle for asking the man himself. The game had started off simple enough. Tony asked about favorite foods, colors, cases he had worked, and what not. Trivial things. So far Gibbs had discovered that Anthony DiNozzo was addicted to pizza, loved the color blue (it used to be red but after his Police work it changed), and once chased a streaker five blocks to get his wallet back.

However, after the first round, Gibbs was ready to move on to bigger things.

"You have any family?" he asked gruffly and heard a scoff from his right.

"Agent Gibbs...Didn't Abby already tell you enough about my family?" The older man blinked and looked over at him, slightly impressed at his knowledge. He wasn't for sure how he knew about the background check, but he clearly did.

"True. So tell me, how does someone who comes from a family that is loaded, end up as a cop and not some lawyer?"

"Business man. When you come from as much money as me, you don't become a lawyer. You hire those." he shrugged and let his eyes wander around the cars surrounding them. "Is Abby going to call you later or something?" he asked and Gibbs frowned.

"How did you-"

"Your question. You know I come from a wealthy family but not...the other part." The NCIS agent looked over again, waiting for him to go on. His curiosity was beginning to peek again.

"I'm kind of disowned." he admitted and Gibbs let out a low whistle.

"Ouch." he commented as he twisted himself in front of another car. "How old were you?"

"Twelve." Wait...What? The vehicle lurched at Gibbs' surprise, making the car stop suddenly.

"Twelve?" he asked in complete disbelief "What the hell did you _do_?" Ok, so maybe that wasn't the most tactful thing ever said. He would normally just shake his head at this kind of revelation, but for some reason, he couldn't believe what the man just said.

"It...It's...uh...Well...Complicated." Tony sighed and looked away before smiling again "My turn! So...How many times have you been married?" Gibbs turned and raised his eyebrows and Tony grinned "If you look at your left ring finger your skin is a little different there, like a bunch of rings have been on it for a while before taken off. I guess it could be just one wife you've been with for a really long time." he shrugged again and Gibbs shook his head at the kid's uncanny observation skills.

"Four." He answered. Only as a reward for his accurate conclusion.

"_Four_?" he yelped and Gibbs couldn't help but smile lightly at his expression.

"Yep."

"Wow...I guess that kind of makes sense. I mean, no offense, but you don't exactly seem like the marriage type of guy. More like hard-core, badass, do what I say or die kind of person. Which actually reminds me... You might need to be a little nicer to Sam."

"Right. I'll decide how to treat my team."

"Your team is scared to death of you."

"Well then they need to man up and do their job. Then maybe I'll tolerate them a little more."

"That's not fair Gibbs." Tony frowned and the agent threw him a sideways glance. Why was he taking this so seriously? Scotts- err Sam. Whatever. He needed to grow some balls and not cower every five minutes. What was DiNozzo's problem?

"He just wants to impress you." Tony continued "but he can't really do that if you're shutting him down every time he tries to do something. Back off a little and I bet he'll do something good."

"Really. I didn't realize you two were this close." Gibbs drawled and watched as Tony's face turned colder and his hands clench ever so slightly.

"You are talking to the kid he got disowned at the age of twelve. Do you not think I tried to impress my parents at every opportunity I got? I don't need to know Sam to understand him." there was a pause in which Gibbs silently fumed at being compared to a man who disowned his own child like that, but managed to keep his mouth shut.

From his right, Tony yawned and let his head lay back a little. Gibbs frowned slightly. The kid had dark circles under his eyes and by his obvious tousled appearance, hadn't slept a whole lot lately.

"Where's your place?" Gibbs asked before he could really think about what he was saying.

"My place? A little bit downtown on 5th Avenue. Why?" Tony blinked and Gibbs quickly switched lanes.

"I'm dropping you off. You look like hell. Go to sleep." he clipped and waited to hear the gratified thanks in return...

That wasn't what happened at all.

"What? No way. No freaking way. Uh-uh. No." Tony spat out and jumped up so much that the kid hit his head on the roof of the car. "I have to go back to the PD and-" he was cut off by Gibbs taking one hand off of the steering wheel and covering his mouth. Jesus. Try to do the guy and favor and he damn well near as a heart attack! What was _with_ him?

"You're going home." told him "I have my handcuffs still if you would prefer me to put you back in those." he offered and Tony's eyes narrowed as he tried to say something which was muffled through Gibbs' hand.

"Are you threatening an officer Agent Gibbs?" he snapped as he pushed the man's hand away from his mouth.

"Not a threat if I'll really do it. Now shut up."

"What if I don't want to?"

"I'll break your jaw."

"No you won't."

"One more word and I'll prove you wrong." Luckily for both of them, Tony finally got the hint and stayed silent. It stayed that way for another ten minutes before Gibbs found that now it was finally silent, it was also slightly unnerving to see the gregarious man so…Quiet.

"Why do you want to go back to the department anyway?" he asked, his eyes wandering over the tense features of the detective. DiNozzo glanced his way momentarily, but said nothing. Obviously opting for the silent treatment. Jethro wondered momentarily if one of his ex-wives had a nephew or something he didn't know about. Perhaps he was related to Stephanie…She did the same thing when she was pissed.

"What the hell?" Tony paused and leaned forward in his seat a little more, eyeing something far out beyond the cars and snow. Gibbs frowned, following his line of sight before making a small choking noise.

For the love of god…

* * *

***Present Time***

"Ducky? Ducky!" McGee shook the older man roughly and watched as the Scotsman jumped up, looking startled.

"Wha-? Oh dear. I'm quite sorry. I must have dozed off." He yawned and glanced down at his watch. "Dear me! No wonder why, it is a little past nine o' clock. This story is taking much longer than anticipated. Of course, with Anthony interrupting every five minutes…"

"I am not the only one interrupting!"

"As I was saying before Anthony interrupted me." Ducky smiled "This story is taking much longer than expected, and it isn't even half over! Why we haven't even reached the part where our dear boy made his great mistake- ticking Jethro off greatly in the process of course."

"It was an accident." Tony grumbled as Gibbs frowned at him, obviously remembering something unpleasant.

"Perhaps we should save the rest until tomorrow morning." Ducky suggested and was met with outraged cries of protests.

"Come on doctor!" Jimmy cut in "You can't just leave us with that ending! I mean, what did they see? You have to at least finish _that_ part of the story before we all leave." The young assistant countered and Lee nodded beside him in agreement. Ducky seemed to consider their words for a moment before finally relenting.

"Ah, very well. I suppose I can finish this one part. However, afterwards I think we all may need to retire to our beds. It is proven that a good night sleep helps the mind focus more and can increase your life span to up to ten years if given the proper amount. Why that reminds me of this one time-"

"Duck, think we can finish this story first?"

"Oh of course! Where was I? Oh yes. Well what Jethro and Anthony saw was highly frightening and is probably what sealed their relationship. You see, it was quite the shocker…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

Fire licked the sides of the car, burning the further and further around. From somewhere inside there was a high pitched scream that erected, causing Tony to almost wince back at that noise.

The car was teetering over the side rail towards what appeared to be a steep cliff. Fire danced along it, trapping what seemed to be two teenage girls and a small boy inside.

"Shit." Gibbs hissed, punching the brakes of the car. He flipped his phone open, in hope to call back-up, only to find the no service signal glaring back testily at him. Looking over, he saw that while many people had pulled over and were attempting to find a way to help the group in the car, there was no cops, rescue squads, or fire fighters anywhere near sight.

"Ok DiNozzo." Gibbs snapped over at the younger man as he clicked off his seat belt "We need to-" he paused in his speech once he found that the Detective was no longer in the car, the door hanging open in the winter breeze.

"HELP!" one of the girls from the car screamed, cowering away from the flames. Tony assessed the scene carefully in attempt to figure out how to get them all out of the car before it fell off the cliff or burned up. Possibly both.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn! Cursing some more, Tony made his way near the vehicle, trying to block out the desperate pleas as he did so.

"I need you to calm down." he told the nearest girl who was frozen stiff. She gave a terrified glance his way before giving a very slow nod.

"Alright." he continued to coach "You and your friend need to slowly move towards the back of the car...You think you can do that?" he asked and groaned inwardly when she shook her head fearfully "It will be ok. I promise. Just get yourself towards the back one at a time." from his right, Tony felt Gibbs run over next to him, quietly looking over the situation as well.

"I...I can't." the girl choked out, looking at him desperately "The car will fall if I move."

"If you get towards the back, the car will tip back as well." Gibbs cut in, his tone more soothing than Tony would have thought possible for the man. Tony glanced over at the girl in the passenger seat, sliding around so that he could talk to her instead.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked her and watched as she winced away from more of the fiery flames.

"Caroline." she whispered carefully and glanced in the backseat. "My baby brother is back there...Can...Can you save him?" she choked through the open window.

"I can do one better. If you listen to me very carefully, my partner and I might be able to save you all. Do you think you can climb back with your brother Caroline?" he asked and the girl glanced at her friend, who was still frozen as Gibbs attempted to talk her into moving.

"I...I think so." she said quietly and slowly unbuckled her seat belt.

"Atta girl." Tony murmured and watched as she slowly moved her way towards the back of the car. Tony glanced over at Gibbs, who was still having no luck with the driver and bit his lip. How to do this...?

By this point, the entire vehicle was nearly engulfed with flames. Children were crying desperately in the background and Tony could hear Caroline's little brother calling for their mom. Slowly the car tipped forward again, rocking uncertainly as the driver gave a little scream.

It was going to fall...There was no preventing it. Without a second thought Tony launched himself through the back window.

* * *

Gibbs heard the crash before he saw it. There was the sound of glass breaking and a horrified cry coming somewhere from the back of the car. Glancing towards the sound, he let out a choked gasp as he saw his partner in the back of the slowly falling vehicle, flinging two figures out.

"Help." the word was whispered so lowly, Gibbs could barely hear it. His eyes snapped back to the girl who was in front of him, the fear clearer than day in her eyes. With one more look back, he saw that Tony had miraculously managed to get the boy and girl out of the car, leaving only the driver. By now, the only place the fire wasn't attacking was the single space between him and the girl, who was literally shaking in fear. Knowing that he had no other choice before the car dived down into the rocky depths below, Gibbs dove into the car, grabbing and yanking the girl out before feeling the car finally give and begin to fall.

If you asked Leroy Jethro Gibbs what happened after that moment, he would proudly say he remembered the whole thing in absolute clarity. He remembered the fire hissing across his face and the digging of glass on his body as he clung to the almost lifeless form of the girl. He would say he remembered the feeling of falling down further and further as he tried to push himself away from the car.

Anthony DiNozzo on the other hand would say that, that was bullshit. He would proclaim that Gibbs didn't remember a damn thing, especially considering he was hanging upside down as the whole episode happened.

Tony watched as the car finally fell over the guard railing, the other girl's screams piercing the air like an arrow might a target. He could see Gibbs push away, the girl cradled in his arms as he fell and the detective pushed off, flinging himself towards them and reaching out to catch the ankle of his current partner.

There was a quick pop and Tony groaned. Damn. Another dislocated shoulder. Ugh, Gibbs so owed him for this. Trying to summon his inner Kent Clark, Tony flung his other arm out and dared himself to look down.

Gibbs was still grasping the girl, who luckily was quite small for her age, with two hands that were clenching both of her wrists. Tony took a deep breath as he focused on trying to use all his strength to pull the two up by Gibbs' ankle.

It was no use. While he was strong enough to lift 400 pounds in college, he doubted he could even pull off 300 now and the two of them weighed just about that.

Biting back a small whimper as the railing cut into his stomach, Tony tried to ignore his injuries as he watched the two lives that were literally in his hands. Gibbs couldn't hold onto that girl forever and he couldn't hold onto him forever. He needed to do something soon.

There was only one solution. Tony was just going to have to grit his teeth, and face the insane amount of pain that was to come, hauling these two up. Taking a deep breath, Tony stiffened his muscles, preparing for what was to be, a very painful moment. Three...Two...One!

With all the strength the detective could muster, Tony pulled, stepping back so that angle could hopefully help them out. His body screamed in agonizing protest, but that only made him pull harder, dragging Gibbs up over the rail again.

Luckily for him, the moment Gibbs touched the ground, he took over and hoisted the girl over, bringing them all to safety once again.

"God...damn..." Tony gasped out, trying to stop swaying as the black spots danced in front of his eyes tauntingly. He blinked as he watched the girl rejoin her friend and the friend's brother, all of them crying and shaking with relief.

"You alright?" a voice asked and the man looked up to see Gibbs looking at him, his face cut up from the glass and a bruise already blossoming on the back of his hand.

"Me?" Tony quickly deflected "I'm talking to the guy who just jumped into a burning car to save a girl _as the car fell_. I think the question should be- are _you_ alright?"

"Peachy." Gibbs muttered, glaring at him, though Tony couldn't help but notice it was a little softer than usual, not holding as much distain and malice. Huh. In order to get the guy's approval you had to jump into burning cars and lift impossible weights over guard rails. Go figure.

"Aw, damn." he muttered as the sirens wailed "Ambulance is here. You want to bust out of here before we get forced to the hospital?" In response, the older man walked over to the car and jumped in, waiting impatiently for Tony to join him. "Thought so." he snorted and hopped back in the car. The two rode in silence for another couple minutes before Tony spoke again.

"Hey...Could you do me a favor?" he asked and Gibbs paused and gave him a sideways glance.

"Depends." He answered warily.

"Could you...Not tell Alex about this? He can sometimes freak about this kind of stuff." The agent paused for a moment, not really replying. Tony was about to repeat his request when Gibbs brought out his phone, pressing something that he couldn't see.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked- well, more like demanded as he watched the Marine wait patiently for someone to pick up the other end of his call.

"Hello? I need to talk to Detective Smith...Yes, Alex Smith." Gibbs greeted.

* * *

***Present Time***

"Bastard." Tony muttered under his breath. Gibbs looked over and gave his Senior Field Agent the briefest of smiles before turning to watch the rest of the team. While Ziva looked mildly amused by the tale, McGee was tense, his hands covering his face as though he was trying to avoid seeing something that wasn't there.

Palmer and Lee's hands were clasp together as they both looked at Ducky in mirrored images of horror, both letting go of the other and blushing when they saw him looking. Abby on the other hand wasn't reacting at all, considering she was fast asleep on Gibbs' shoulder.

"Oh my god...You...You...You dove into a falling car that was on fire?" Tim squeaked out, his voice higher than usual.

"You called Alex." Ziva chortled happily, completely ignoring the fact her partners almost died. Unlike the others in the room, she seemed aware that both were safe and right in front of them, unharmed.

"Ah, well that should end it for tonight." Ducky cut in when he saw Tony's outraged face "It is very late as I said earlier and we should all be getting our recommended seven to eight hours of sleep don't you say? If you wish to hear more then we could continue tomorrow- that is, if there are no cases of course." All nodded enthusiastically, getting up to stretch and bid each other good night.

"I still don't understand how you got a job out of all this." Tim said shaking his head as he left the autopsy room with Tony and Ziva.

"All in good time McDoubtful. And remember the first time I said no." Tony told him, shaking his head to keep himself awake.

"Why would you say no?" Ziva frowned, looking sideways at her partner. For a flash of a moment Tony's face darkened before he rubbed his eyes warily.

"You'll see." was all he gave before heading to his car. Quickly unlocking it, he waved once more to his friends before thrusting himself inside.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. The day had been longer than expected. He hadn't really wanted to bring the past back up. The past and all of its painful memories... With yet another sigh, he pulled out of the NCIS parking lot, trying to get away from the screaming in his head...

_'Help! Please, please help! Tony...TONY!'_

Maybe he would have a drink or two tonight...Just to get rid of the voices.

* * *

**Ok, so before anyone says anything, you should know that I have not forgotten about Tony and Gibbs injuries. There is a reason I let them escape the ambulance. Also, I want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews! *throws out kisses* they make me so happy! If I could, I would reply to them but I found I just don't have that much time...If I do find some though, I'll definitely try to reply to some. Speaking of which! Know that I MAY have a little bit of whump Tony in here. I'll try my very hardest not to overdo it but know there will be a little in here...**

**Alright! That is it for my announcements and thoughts (: Thanks for all who favorited/followed this story. You guys always make me smile (: Please remember to review if you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, or if you saw some mistakes anywhere in here...**

**Lots of love,**

**lNightWriterl **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I know, I know. I'm getting slower with the updates... I started school last week, so unfortunately I won't update as much as usual. Fair warning: This chapter is considerably shorter than I usually write and doesn't appear to have a real purpose...Yet. I promise it will all make sense in the end! Anyway, thank you guys for all your awesome reviews once again (: They truly, really do inspire me to update this story!**

* * *

~Chapter 6~

***Present Time***

Tony woke to the sound of knocking.

_Loud_ knocking.

Over...And over...And...Over again.

"Go away!" he moaned and turned over, trying desperately to ignore the pounding on his front door. Who the hell came and bashed down someone's door at three in the morning anyways?

"Did you not hear the knocking?" From underneath his pillow, Tony cracked a sticky lid open and looked up.

"Since when did you knock?" he asked and propped himself up on his elbows, trying to clear his head, which was pounding irritably- probably due to that bottle of Jack last night...

"Since I was trying to be nice- Or wait a minute...You don't like it when I'm nice, right?" Gibbs asked, leaning on the door frame.

"Nope. It's too weird." Tony yawned and looked at him for a moment "What exactly are you doing here again boss?" he asked and listened to the silence as his reply.

Truth be told, Gibbs himself wasn't entirely for sure what he was doing here. After Ducky's story he had gone home and slept...Well attempted to sleep. It was a bit hard to sleep when memories kept bombarding his mind every second.

When Gibbs returned from Mexico, most of his memories where chaotic and fuzzy- especially concerning a Senior Field Agent of his. His only thought was why he hired the idiot in the first place. He was self-centered, shallow, cocky, stupid, and...and...ugh! Just frustrating! However, with Ducky's tale spinning into a web, he began to have a flash of memories and feelings wash over him.

Tony and him arguing...Laughing...Arguing again. Then there were also memories of DiNozzo stuck in a sewer, held at gun point, and put under those god damn blue lights...Struggling for a single breath.

Yeah. _Those_ awful memories came back...Along with the feeling of pure fear that he always associated with them. The rest of the night he had spent trying to figure out just _why_ he felt so scared when he looked back on the memories in which his SFA was in danger.

He didn't understand. He didn't get it. Was there more to Tony than what meets the eye? Why was this man such a puzzle? The very thought made him want to pull his hair out.

"Making sure you came to work." he shrugged, deciding that lying was the best bet, considering he didn't really know the answer to the question himself. Tony blinked and Gibbs only just caught the flash of hurt in his eyes.

"You really think I'm that much of a slacker?" he asked lightly as he stretched and stood up. To Gibbs' ultimate relief Tony was wearing clothes...Or at least pants. He seemed to have a brief flashback of Tony pointing a gun at an Iguana stark naked. Why did...? Never mind. He didn't want to know.

"I think you need to get dressed and be ready to go to work. I'm driving." he told him and marched to the kitchen without waiting for an answer.

God damn him. Gibbs needed to figure out who exactly his agent was. Part of him sensed that he had already found out once- and it hadn't been easy either. The question was this: Was Tony worth all the trouble to find out all over again? Half of the older man wished that his memories would just spring all back into place so he wouldn't have to bother at all. However, the chances of _that_ happening were almost nonexistent.

Stupid brain. Why was it so against him at times?

Gibbs scowled, and began looking for the coffee maker to ease his mind...Yes, coffee always solved problems. At least where his brain was concerned. After about ten minutes of searching, he finally found an old looking machine stuffed behind a bunch of pans. The thing looked older than he was...Not that he was old. It was only _just_ old for a coffee maker.

Gibbs continued he quest for coffee, putting in at least ten scoops of grind and making a mental note to buy DiNozzo a new coffee maker for Christmas- that was assuming the guy didn't poison himself with this one.

"Come on!" he growled after the damn thing sat there for a moment doing nothing. Amazingly, the thing then started- making a loud gurgling noise that sounded like a cross between a dying cat and his second ex-wife.

He and Shannon once had a stove that made that noise...

Their house caught on fire a little while after that.

"Gibbs? Ow! What the-? Oh..." Tony stuttered out as he slid into the room, his toothbrush still in hand. He glanced between Gibbs and the coffee maker and then wiped his mouth free of toothpaste.

"Uh...Yeah. I usually just pick up coffee from Starbucks or something. I don't think I've used that thing since...Huh. I don't remember the last time I've used it actually..." he trailed off, tapping the toothbrush against this lips in thought.

"Will it explode?" Gibbs asked cautiously, watching the thing shake. Tony opened his mouth and then closed it, looking at the maker in slight alarm.

"Honestly? I'm not sure...Maybe we should just turn it-AH!"

At that moment there was a loud bang and Tony dove to floor, peeking up over the counter a couple seconds later.

"Hey. It's working DiNozzo!" Gibbs smiled and poured himself a cup.

* * *

Tony had never been in a more awkward car ride. While he wasn't entirely for sure _why_ his Boss decided to show up at his apartment...He was ninety-nine percent certain that it had to deal with Ducky's tale...No pun intended.

They were about half way to the Navy Yard when Gibbs pulled over to the side and parked the car. It occurred to Tony that since he had no car at work, he was probably going to have to get a ride back home with Gibbs. Mental Note: Do not tick off boss.

"We need to talk." He finally said and Tony glanced up, about a hundred witty comments popping into his head. He didn't say any though. Despite his many faults and their many misunderstandings…Gibbs was still the most respected person in Tony's life. No matter how frustrated he got with himself at the fact…He _still_ wanted to impress him.

"About what?" he asked. To be honest it was a fair question. About Baltimore? About work? About the team? Was he about to get fired?

"You." Gibbs shrugged "Me. Ziva. McGee. Abby. You know, I never really got that much of a run through on what happened when I was away."

"We…Solved cases. That's it really." Tony answered quietly. There was more to it. They both knew that but… Tony didn't want to talk about it.

"I figured out that much actually."

"What exactly do you want to know Gibbs?" Tony finally snapped, the tension getting to him.

"What happened Tony? You're different." Oh…Oh! That _so_ was not going to fly.

"I'm different? I'm _different_?" Tony hissed and let out a sarcastic laugh "Ok. Let me get something straight. You barely remember me at all yet, I'm _different_?"

"How do you know I barely remember you?"

"Because I know _you_. You're treating me like a suspect. The enemy! I'm not going to lie, you have been living up to that second B lately, and I the reason why is because you can't remember. Because I know, that when you came back. I was competition to you. Because you _didn't_ remember. I was just some annoying guy who was trying to steal your desk. That's how I know."

Anger boiled up in Gibbs' throat, his eyes flashing. He hated it when people called him out and he _hated_ it when they were right about it.

"Watch it." He said quietly and Tony fell silent, looking out the window.

"Sorry, Boss." He muttered, still not looking at him.

"Don't apologize." Gibbs sighed. Of all the rules he had tried to drill into his SFA's head, that one seemed to be the only one he consistently broke. A voice in his head wondered why the hell that habit of his was so hard to break. Another one told him that somewhere in the back of his mind, he already knew the answer to that.

The rest of the drive was silent.

* * *

"Well, well! If it isn't the duo themselves!" Ducky greeted merrily. Abby, Ziva, McGee, and Palmer were already seated, waiting eagerly for the story to continue.

"Where's Agent Lee?" Tony asked as he flung himself down into the nearest seat.

"Michelle? Uh, she said she'd have to skip today. Legal stuff." Palmer shrugged and Ziva gave him a curious look, wondering to herself when the two had become on first name basis.

"You three done with your paper work?" Gibbs asked his agents suspiciously as he took his seat. When he got three affirmatives, he quickly checked his phone and shot them a glare.

"We get called into a case we go without a single complaint." He warned before shooting Tony an unreadable look. He wasn't entirely for sure what he had hoped to accomplish by picking Tony up this morning, but he was sure that it wasn't this.

"Tony you alright?"

"Of course I am McNerd! I had the best night. I went to the bar and there was this amazingly hot chick. I'm talking full out ten! Her name was Cassie and let me tell you." He let out a low whistle "She's a real looker." He sighed longingly and his two team mates snorted, obviously buying the lie.

"Well Anthony, is it too much hope you will see this Cassie again?" Ducky clucked with obvious disapproval.

"Maybe." Tony murmured, his eyes glazing over as his thoughts instead turned over to a certain Jeanne Benoit. He had wanted to call her last night…He thought that perhaps her voice would soothe the screaming in his head.

_'Tony! Please, please Tony…Help! We don't want to die…Oh god please!'_

But he didn't. He couldn't go to her for comfort. He had to stay his distance…He couldn't let himself _really_ fall in love with her…He would never do that to either of them.

"Well!" Ducky clapped his hands "Moving on. Where were we exactly? Hmm…Oh yes. This part is one of my favorites I just might say!"

"You're kidding." Tony cut in, giving him a disbelieving look. "I got into trouble and it is your _favorite_?"

"Young man, if I were to choose my favorite moments of my time with this group based on when you were _not_ in trouble… I would not have a very large selection to be looking at." Ducky smiled at him, not unkindly.

"Hey!" he pouted. "I'm not _always_ that bad." He muttered, looking honestly bothered by the accusation. Jimmy clapped him on the back comfortingly, but no one spoke up to agree with him either.

"Alright. So after the very heroic scene by Anthony and Jethro- where they very fool heartedly decided not get checked out by a medical personnel I might add. They went to Anthony's apartment in which more very interesting things happened…"

* * *

**Alright. I am worried about this one guys. Tony and Gibbs seemed a bit OOC to me... Thoughts? The reason why I am adding all this in here is because back in season...I think it was four or five? Either way, there was never any closure on what happened with Gibbs' hiatus. I think. I haven't seen all the episodes yet...:(...**

**NCIS NEWS! Guess what I found out about season 10?! First off -SPOILER ALERT- Ducky lives! Also, Palmer has officially become a main character to the NCIS cast (: During the season the two are going to be having a lot of heart to hearts apparently :P Also, Ziva and Tony are going to be having some special time in the elevator...Tiva perhaps? That's what I thought too. HOWEVER! After an interview with one of the writers it says that this season Tony is more than likely going to find 'the one special girl'. *Gasp!* I KNOW! The writer was asked if we know this character or not and you know what he said? A little bit of both. WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN!? Honestly. That is an awful answer. Does that mean we are going to have a minor character be Tony's lover or something? Or maybe someone from another series? Ah! The agony! Of course, Tony's girl could be Ziva (we hope) or perhaps the new girl on the show known as "Astrid". I doubt it though because she looks like she is only 20 or so. Also, our little McGee has been significantly injured compared to the rest of the cast...Poor Tim! The headquarters will be restored so all is well there. Though very tragically, the wall colors will be lost...RIP orange NCIS walls.**

**Alright, I think I gave you enough spoilers for one day! Please review on the chapter (I will update the next chapter much sooner) and if you have any other NCIS news to share, please do! Thanks a million my lovely, lovely readers!**

**lNightWriterl **


	7. Chapter 7

**There are so many excuses I could give right now, but I am just going to be frank and break one of Gibbs' rules. I am really, really sorry guys. This chapter has been a nightmare. I deleted, edited, deleted, formatted, tweaked, edited, and rewrote like crazy...And I still hate it. However, this version did get my point across so hopefully you guys like it more than I do...**

* * *

~Chapter 7~

***Ten Years Ago***

Anthony DiNozzo had to be gay.

He had to be. Gibbs could think of no other explanation.

When they had pulled up to DiNozzo's apartment Gibbs noticed that it was the type where they basically took a house and put a wall down the middle. One side belonged to you; the other side to your neighbor.

The place was actually nice looking. A small lawn, brightly painted, and over all looked well-kept from the outside. Compared to the other complexes around it...It looked like a million buck joint. Gibbs shook his head and gave a sideways glance at the Detective. He had learned that the kid's parents disowned him but still...Who would let their child live in _this_ area? Hell, if DiNozzo had been his agent, he would have put his foot down at the very idea.

All this though, wasn't what made Gibbs believe the man was gay. It was the fact that there was a small garden in front of his apartment that was literally _filled_ with the most assortments of brightly pink flowers possible. Not to mention the neon purple ribbons tied to them. Sorry, but that was just a bit girlish unless...

"Your girlfriend?" he asked, spying the woman who was in front of the building, planting what looked to be a kind of pink sunflower or something weird like that.

"Huh? Oh no. That's Ms. Marshall. She's my neighbor." he said and then frowned, gesturing to the woman's greying hair. "I don't look that old."

"Isn't that _your_ part of the yard though?" Gibbs asked ignoring the statement, but was cut off by a surprised yelp and a body shoving him out of the way.

"Tony! Oh my god, are you alright?" the woman gushed. The agent froze, stopping to quietly admire how the woman went from the garden to them so fast.

"I'm fine Ms. Marshall." Tony smiled, rubbing his side absent mindedly. "Just got a little banged up is all."

"It is _Maggie_ Anthony. I don't like Ms. Marshall. I'm not _that_ old."

"Sorry Ma'am."

"No Ma'ams either."

"My apologies Miss." Tony smiled and watched as the lady threw her hands in the air.

"I swear! I can't decide whether I want to slap you or laugh." she cried

"Let's settle for laughing." Tony grinned and then gestured to Gibbs. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs meet Maggie Marshall." he introduced.

"Nice to meet you Ma'am." he nodded at her and Maggie frowned.

"Not another one. Dear lord you two boys must be deaf or dead. Maggie. The name is Maggie." she told them and looked over the agent for about five minutes. Gibbs figured he was being subjected to some kind of test, if the narrowed eyes and scrutinizing face was anything to go by. After a few more seconds Ms. Marshall spoke again, Gibbs obviously having passed her assessment. "Well, I'll let you two get going again. I just wanted to make sure this one here didn't escape from the hospital... Again." She scowled and gave a discreet look at his wrist as if checking for a hospital bracelet before continuing. "Thank you for letting me use your yard again sweetheart. It really gives me something to do during the day and Madeline loves it."

"Aw, I should be thanking you. It looks great. You know I really should be paying you and Maddie..."

"Don't be stupid." she scolded. "I should be paying you. I can't convince anyone else to let me and my granddaughter plant pink flowers in their garden." the woman laughed. Tony smiled politely before eyeing the door warily. Gibbs figured that the lack of sleep must be getting to him. It had to be after god knows how long he's been without it.

"It nice to meet you Ms.- I mean Maggie." The agent spoke up, looking at his partner. The woman seemed to quickly understand what was implied and nodded.

"You as well Agent Gibbs." She told him and gave Tony an affectionate smile before turning around. She had made it about half way when suddenly a small figured zoomed out, screaming at the top of its lungs.

"GRANDMA! I found it! I found- TONY!" the little ball of pink suddenly changed directions, flying fast in the direction of the two men, pouncing on the detective.

"Whoa there sweetheart." Tony gasp after letting out a small 'oof' when attacked.

"Tony!" the pink creature cooed. In closer inspection, now that the thing stopped moving, Gibbs discovered that what he originally had pegged as a talking, pink rabbit, was indeed a seven year old girl.

"Hey Maddie." Tony smiled, ruffling a mass of blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.

"I missed you!" she chatted happily "Grandma said that I would see you this time I came to visit. Though, you were gone for a long time. I've been here for three days and this is the first time I've seen you! We planted more flowers for you…See? Do you like them? I wanted to sprinkle some glitter on them but we couldn't find any at the store. We found ribbons though. Do you think it looks pretty? I think it does. Maybe we could find some glitter at a different store! Then I could wear my fairy costume and pretend to sprinkle pixie dust on all the flowers. Is that a good idea? I think it would be fun. Will you do it with me Tony? Cause' then we can take a picture and I could bring it to Mommy and Daddy. They haven't met you yet you know. But Mommy says you sound like a nice boy and Daddy says that he wants to thank you for something, but I don't know what. Hey Tony... Why are you kind of black and blue looking?" all of this was said in one breath and Gibbs' eyes widened. Oh god. Abby's soul was sucked into this little human's body…

"Wow Maddie. Sounds like you have a lot going on. I'm some funny colors because of work. You know, chasing down bad guys and all." Tony winked "I'll have to help you with your flowers later though. You see this scary guy right here? His name his Gibbs and I got to make sure he gets fed before midnight else he turns into a monster." There was a long pause as Madeline slowly turned and looked at Gibbs through fiercely suspicious eyes.

Damn it.

Kelly had those eyes. She would always turn them on him whenever he would try to coax her into trying something new, or when he wanted to surprise her with something. His daughter had always been more like him. Walking on the fine line of something completely dangerous and reckless, yet ironically being annoyingly cautious over it as well.

"You're a monster?" she said skeptically and Gibbs shook his head.

"No Ma'am. I'm an agent." He told her, kneeling down so that the two were eye level. "You planted those?" he asked, jerking his head towards the garden. Maddie paused, before nodding slowly, her eyes still watching him with growing suspicion. "They're pretty." He told her and watched as her face lit up and instant affection took over her features.

"You're not a monster." She decided and then turned to Tony. "Don't be silly." She scolded "He's not a monster. He's the good king in my fairytale books…Are you married to a good queen?" she asked him and Gibbs chuckled.

"No. I'm married to an evil queen actually. Don't worry though. I'm getting rid of her in a couple weeks." He smiled and stood up, brushing off his pants.

"How?" the girl asked with big eyes and Gibbs chuckled lightly.

"Divorce papers."

* * *

"You're good with kids." Tony commented as he unlocked the door to his home. Gibbs didn't respond at first, simply preferring to eye over the detective instead.

"Not too bad yourself." He told him quietly as Tony glance over his way.

"Nah. Normally I suck. Maddie is the only exception. Ms. Marshall is her grandmother. Maddie usually comes around a couple times a year, when her mom had relapses."

"Relapses?"

"Breast cancer. It's been an on and off battle for a couple years now…Hence the pink flowers. Maddie told me once that it was her favorite color because it showed how brave her mom is." He paused for a moment to shake his head. "She's a brave girl." He said quietly and Gibbs blinked at the melancholy tone. There was a moment of silence and Tony finally stopped struggling with the lock and flung the door open.

To Gibbs' surprise, the place actually did not look like a tornado went through. On the contrary the place looked like a Marine's quarters to be honest. Everything was folded and made. Some things appeared to be ironed and everything organized. The apartment smelled strongly of chocolate, pizza, and for some weird reason- alcohol swabs.

"Want some coffee?" Tony asked as he made his way to the kitchen. There was a pause in which Gibbs just ignored him and his stupid question, slowly making his way across the room and looking at the man's various things. The living room was simply enough. A large black, leather sofa smack in the middle with a coffee table right in front of it. A little farther further stood a 70 inch TV with two book cases filled with DVDs on either side.

The Marine noted that nearly everything had bits of dust on it. Like someone hadn't touched anything in a couple days. What was it Maddie had said?

'_I've been here for three days and this is the first time I've seen you!'_

Why hasn't DiNozzo come home until now?

A loud bang from the kitchen broke the man's train of thoughts. Oh god…Someone was shooting at them! Quickly, Gibbs dashed into the kitchen, gun already out to fend off whatever attacker may present itself.

"Whoa! Why do you have that out?"

Gibbs blinked, staring at Tony who was slowly backing away from him, arms raised in a surrendered position.

What the fuck?

"I heard a gunshot." He said blankly, still looking around for another gun to be pointed at him. To his surprise, Tony actually turned a bit red at his words and laughed.

"Uh…No. That was the coffee maker." He said, gesturing to an old looking machine in the corner of the room. Gibbs made no comment, simply opting to inch his way towards it, looking cautiously at the ancient thing now spitting out black liquid.

"You need to get a new one." He told him matter-of-factly.

"I would Gibbs, but I usually just have department coffee. Plus I don't have the greatest salary of all times. Not to mention, I'm not an addict like you."

Gibbs simply turned to the cop and stared.

Tony stared right back, that smug little bitch smile on his face.

The whole ordeal lasted about five minutes before Tony finally caved and went and grabbed a cup. Jethro waited, making sure that DiNozzo took a few sips before grabbing the cup from him, satisfied that it wasn't poisoned.

"You're kidding me. There is a pot behind you and you still take mine? You owe me four cups of coffee!" he groaned, glaring at the older man before wincing.

Hmm…Well look at that. It seems Mr. Invincible just might be injured.

"You hurt?" he asked snidely and instantly Tony shook his head in denial.

"You?" he asked in the same tone, though legit concern laced his voice.

"Nope."

"I don't believe that." Tony shook his head "You should probably go and get cleaned up. Shower is down the hall. You need me to call Ducky?"

"Said I was fine." Gibbs glowered, though tempted at the thought of a nice, hot shower washing off all the blood and glass…

"Right. I think I'm a bit bigger than you, but you could still fit in some of my clothes if you need something to change into. I'll tell Ducky to bring some more for you when I call."

"You're not calling Ducky. I'm. Fine." Gibbs hissed "Do you-" he growled out before freezing. No…

_No_! He couldn't believe this! He was totally being played right now! By a child cop! Oh, this was crap. The kid was trying to deflect him and it freaking worked!

Well fine. Two can play that game.

"Alright. Use my phone. Ducky is speed dial two." He answered and Tony let out a wary sigh.

"Gibbs. I'm going to call him okay? You can't give me a hard time when- Wait, what? Did you just agree with me?" he asked, realization dawning on him. The older man simply smirked before retreating to the shower.

* * *

"What do you got for me Abs?" Gibbs asked, stretched out on the couch. Tony had apparently gone out for pizza- leaving a rather hastily written note on the counter for when Gibbs got out of the shower.

It was rather frustrating. Gibbs' original plan was to wait until Ducky got here and then have him look at Tony instead of him. However, now that the kid was gone he was beginning to feel supremely agitated that the knucklehead was going to get himself killed while going to get a damn pizza.

However, it wasn't his concern whether the bonehead lived or not. It wasn't like the man was his responsibility anyhow.

So here he was, sprawled out in Tony's sweats and Ohio State shirt listening to his forensic analyst chatter away happily on the phone for a moment or two before she went silent and sulky.

"Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I feel really bad." Well that wasn't what he expected to hear.

"Why is that?" he asked in his most soothing tone. There was a pause on the other end and Gibbs could almost see Abby sitting there, biting her lip as she twirled her pigtails nervously.

"I don't like that Detective but…Gibbs I finished the background check. I mean, he's a jerk. But…Gibbs it is so sad!" she sniffled and the agent sighed, wondering exactly what he was going to uncover.

"Lay it out for me Abby." He said, bracing himself for the worst.

"The reason why the divorce between DiNozzo's parents dropped was because his mother died. She died Gibbs! When he was _eight_! That's not even the worst part either. When she died, Tony was sitting next to her in the hospital. She had cancer and Tony had been taking care of her for months. His Dad was gone the whole time she was sick. When she died…He was with her Gibbs. The report said they were watching TV together when she died. And…And…He just sat there for a couple minutes alone with her corpse. He told her he was _sorry_ Gibbs. That he was sorry he couldn't save her. Then, his Dad _still_ wasn't back yet so he set up her funeral all by himself. Hell, he even picked out what dress she was buried in! Then, get this, only his mother's side of the family showed up to the funeral. His Dad didn't even come." Gibbs stayed silent, not daring to interrupt her in fear that for once his emotions might override him. What the _hell_?

"Then he was disowned Gibbs! Four years later he was disowned and shipped away to _military school_! Of all places!" Gibbs glanced around the room again and nodded to himself, his previous thoughts about the apartment now making more sense. "He attended Rhode Island Military Academy before moving on to Ohio State."

"You hack into those files?" Gibbs asked cautiously and he heard Abby let out a snarl.

"Yes. Most were Social service records. They were complaints about DiNozzo Senior from teachers, counselors, and what not. They all said around the same thing. He was drunk, sporadic, and possibly abusive. They all wanted Tony out of his custody. Of course, looking a little deeper every person who complained has had their pants sued off by the man. Most of them lost their jobs, homes, families…Everything. In fact…Out of the ten people who complained, three are dead, two are on welfare, four are homeless, and one has been missing for about eight years." Damn. That was…_Damn_. Gibbs frowned. He wasn't usually that well accustomed to people with higher power than him. He felt that no matter who you are or whatever benefit you may have to him- You still needed to earn his respect. Right now? DiNozzo Senior had zero of it.

"And the Baltimore sealed files?"

"I got in, but it wasn't a complete copy. The main jist of it all was this: Crazy dude who loves to kill people is traveling all across the states. Known as the…Wait for it…Throat Slicer. Any idea why he was called that? You guessed it. He killed his victims by slicing their throats…What a discreet name. Anyways, he killed fifteen people before making his way into Baltimore. The FBI was on the case, yet they had no idea where he was until the body showed up. The two Detectives who had also snagged the case- Alex and Tony- got into this _huge_ argument over who got to work the case. At the time, it was only DiNozzo's third week on the job. Get this though, two weeks later? He _caught_ the creep! The FBI had been spending six months on this thing and Tony caught him almost single handedly in two weeks."

Hmm…Interesting. Gibbs pondered over this for a second before allowing his mind to flash back to the conversation back at the Crime scene.

_"Why didn't you tell me?" _

_"Because I knew you would be upset and there was nothing you could do."_

_"I should be able to know if someone is watching me!"_

Hm…So that was why other letter agencies let him in on their investigations? Interesting. Snapping his phone shut, Gibbs moaned and stretched out. He was fairly sure that he had a concussion, but aside from that it was just bruises…He thought so at least.

This Anthony DiNozzo was getting on his nerves. The kid was a mystery, and Gibbs had enough of those to solve at the moment.

Speaking of which, he hoped that Alex had found something good while they gone. The older agent had just had about enough of this case, and wanted to get it solved as quickly as possible. He had a boat to build.

* * *

"Hey, I'm back." Tony called through the door as he made his way inside the apartment, balancing a bunch of pizza boxes in one hand.

"Took long enough." The other man said, eyeing the pizza distrustfully, why were there so many? Following Gibbs' gaze Tony's already wide smile got bigger.

"I wasn't for sure what kind you liked." He shrugged "So I decided to get at least five different kinds and the ones you didn't want, I could have."

"You plan on eating four boxes of pizza?" Gibbs asked in a tone that clearly indicated he was unsure of the cop's mental state.

"Uh…Yeah." DiNozzo shrugged, as if that was the stupidest question that could be asked. They eyed each other over warily, obviously wondering what was wrong with the other before wordlessly plopping down on the sofa and began eating.

"Who are they?" Gibbs asked after he swallowed and Tony surfed through some TV channels, jerking his head up at the series of picture frames lining the top of the bookcases.

"Um, well the first one with the girl pointing the gun at me? That was my partner from Peoria. Her name was Amy…We were both rookies, so I have no idea why they paired us together, stupid mistake really. We still worked well together though." He shrugged with a small smile.

"I see that." Gibbs muttered, looking closer at the picture of Tony holding his hands up in mock surrender as another girl pointed the gun, smirking triumphantly at the camera.

"The next one is of me and some college buddies and the one after that is me and my old partner Jacob, playing pool." He continued, his eyes slowly crawling their way to the photo of him and another much older man playing the game in some club. "He was killed during my last week." Tony said quietly "Was shot in the throat…I tried to help but…" his voice drifted for a second before quickly snapping back "and the last one is of me and Alex." He finished, looking at the one of the two men obviously pushing each other around, caught in mid laugh.

"You missed one." Gibbs stated.

Both men's eyes were fixated on the last photo, the one with a girl smiling widely as she blew a kiss into the camera…

"No one." Tony almost whispered and Gibbs raised an eyebrow…but didn't push. The next moments were filled with an unusual silence as Gibbs scrutinized the other man carefully.

He wasn't about to pretend he understood him by any means, and he couldn't help but feel more and more annoyed the more he thought about. The guy was like one big contradiction. Acted like a dumb jock, yet smart. Went to military school, yet didn't salute or give a 'yes sir' every other sentence. Had a wealthy family, yet no happy childhood. Seemed shallow, yet judging by the photos and his compassion…That didn't fit either. It seemed as though the man had layers and layers of disguises and protection around him, though from what, he wasn't sure.

His thoughts were cut short by a loud bang.

"Jethro? Anthony?" Both men's eyes snapped to the front door which was being pounded against fiercely as someone on the other side yelled their names again.

"I think Ducky's here." Tony commented as he worked his way through another slice of pizza.

"Ya think DiNozzo?" Gibbs muttered and watched as the Detective skipped to the door, and opened with much flourish.

"Welcome to my humble abode." He grinned and led the elderly man into the room where Gibbs simply looked at the two of them. "Your patient is right there." Tony told him, pointing at Gibbs. The agent shook his head though and pointed at Tony instead. Instantly the two narrowed eyes at one another, the obvious challenge was on.

"His shoulder was messed up."

"I saw him limping." They both told Ducky at the same time in hopes to draw attention to the other's injury.

"My shoulder is fine now." Tony quickly defended "It was just dislocated. I popped it back in. Fixed." He smirked triumphantly.

"You…Popped it back in?" Ducky repeated and the younger man shrugged.

"Yeah." He said and Gibbs frowned, silently asking Ducky why he looked so shocked at the conclusion.

"Anthony…The pain that must have been involved in that-"

"Aw, I do it all the time. Played football and basketball no biggie." He told him and Ducky's eyes got wider if possible.

"Sit." He commanded pointing to the couch and Gibbs gave a silent cheer as he got up to get another cup of coffee. "You too Jethro." Ducky added and Gibbs groaned as he heard Tony give a small 'ha!' under his breath.

"Come on Duck-" he started but was cut off by the doctor putting a thermometer in his mouth. He debated for a moment on taking it back out, but was dejected to the fact it would all and all be a lot quicker if he got the whole damn thing over with.

Tony didn't see it that way.

"This is illegal!" he yelped as he backed away slowly, something of almost fear reaching his eyes as he moved away from Ducky. "You can't force medical treatment on me!"

"Anthony would you stop being a child?"

"I can sue!"

"Sit down!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Decidedly annoyed with both of them, Gibbs decided it was time to simplify matters and stood up, effectively pushing Tony into the nearest chair, watching as he attempted to squirm away from Ducky's touch.

What the hell was with this kid?

"Wha-? Oh my…" Ducky muttered and Gibbs instantly redirected his attention to a colorfully bruised torso. That wasn't what got his attention though.

"Where did you get these stitches done young man?" Ducky said in an almost outraged voice.

"Uh…My room?" Tony said in a small voice, carefully trying to inch away from their prying eyes. Gibbs noticed that among the stitches and bruises, burns were laced on his arms and body as well. Most though, seemed to be cleaned and wrapped carefully.

"You…You did that yourself?" Ducky asked slowly, as though not really for sure he believed it.

"Umm…My ex-girlfriend liked to sew… Left her kit here." He said sheepishly and Ducky blinked, now looking almost faint.

"You used a sewing kit to give yourself stitches…" he said and walked into the next room, almost dazed. Concerned, Gibbs followed him in, wondering if his friend was somehow hyperventilating with the poor self-care shown.

"Duck?"

"Jethro…Where did you _find_ him?"

"Um…At a crime scene. Had a really bitchy attitude too. Which reminds me, I would like to thank you for running him over earlier."

"Jethro! This isn't funny! He popped a dislocated shoulder back into place! He cleaned and dressed burn wounds and _sewed his skin back together_! The amount of pain he would have to be in order to complete that…Not to mention that with his eyes that dilated, he probably has a concussion to top it all off!" Gibbs watched as the elderly doctor paused to take a breath.

To be perfectly honest, Gibbs was slightly alarmed as well. Was this normal behavior? No. Normal behavior is when you put a Band-Aid on and say your fine. Not taking a fucking sewing needle to yourself and saying your fine.

"Will…He be ok?" He asked cautiously "To work." He added quickly when a small smirk appeared on the older man's lips.

"Well, however painful it was…It got the job done at least. He should heal up fine with some rest."

"Ducky, we have an ongoing investigation going, I doubt we have time for rest. Maybe I should just pull him off for the next couple days…"

"Jethro, If I didn't know any better I would say your concerned about the lad."

"You're right. You do know better. Duck, this is the only LEO I've ever been able to work with. I just think it would be better if he didn't die. So what?" he asked scathingly and the doctor seemed to be attempting not to smile once more.

"Nothing, nothing." He murmured. "Would you still like me to do a psychological analysis on him?"

"Yeah. The kid's head is messed up. Figured I'd need some professional help." Gibbs snorted and glanced over in the living room. Tony was staring at them through narrow eyes, as if he knew exactly what was being said. It was almost kind of creepy in a way.

"I'll talk to him Jethro." Ducky sighed "He _does_ seem to be a rather interesting young man doesn't he? He the meantime though, I think we ought to worry about your injuries though…" he concluded and Gibbs groaned. This was going to take a while.

* * *

**Well it was a long one for you guys at least. I have one more chapter to write with them at the apartment before they get back on the case. Also! To my little important things to say...**

**1.) Thank you all so freaking much for your reviews! I love them so much (: 3 Speaking of which, I got a PM from a certain wonderful reviewer who recommended me to an author called _Detour_. I read her stuff and it is AMAZING! Check it out. She has a version on how Gibbs met Tony too (Fitting Pieces)and it actually has a lot of similiarities to him...It was actually really weird...**

**2.) More spoiler alerts! I learned that we will be seeing Eli David and Anthony DiNozzo Sr. again this season so round of applause there (; Tony's dad is going to be coming around towards Christmas actually so THAT should be real interesting there. **

**3.) Ok. I have a dilemma and I need yours guys help. So I am still kind of at the beginning of watching the series. I've seen a few episodes from season six and above, but not a whole lot. But, from what I've been hearing...Ziva turned into a bitch! Is this true dear readers? Should I still support Tiva after this? At the very beginning I loved Ziva, even though I found her arrogance and pushiness slightly annoying. There were a few of her comments I didn't like either, but overall I could overlook those things...Does she get worse? Please tell me no! I don't want her to be ruined! **

**4.) Updates...So here's the deal. RL has got me working overtime. From AP courses, to XC and soccer, and my parents finalizing their divorce, I don't have a lot of time to write. In fact, I've been really living up to my penname lately. So from now on, expect updates to be every week or so, maybe longer, but no more than a month...Not even that long. I just want to make sure what I DO get to write is somewhat good quality so I'm going to have to slow down a bit...I'm really sorry about that :(**

**5.) And last but not least in my A/N...Sequel! I had this flash of inspiration while taking my Chemistry test...(I know, not a good time to be thinking anout writing but hey, I still got an A :P) After I do manage to finish Baltimore Beginnings would you like to see a follow up? I was thinking more along the lines of Tony's first few months at NCIS were told... Thoughts?**

**Well that is it guys (: Thanks for being patient with me and I promise I'll work hard to get more chapters up!**

**Please review...(:**

**lNightWriterl**


	8. Chapter 8

~Chapter 8~

***10 Years Ago***

Gibbs didn't know how he ended up staying the night…but he somehow did. He decided it had to be because Ducky insisted, and also because the older doctor himself was staying. Yeah… That made perfect sense.

Unfortunately, the arrangement only caused problems. DiNozzo's apartment consisted of a living room, guest room, master bedroom, master bathroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Both Gibbs and Tony agreed that Ducky should have the guest room, teaming up to bully the man into taking it. However, DiNozzo seemed to think that Gibbs was going to take _his_ bed.

All in all the argument between the two had caused a riot. The two yelled back in forth for about ten minutes before Gibbs practically lost it and broke a glass… It was a stupid quarrel, but Gibbs just didn't understand why the man was just so damn stubborn about him taking the damn bed. It was perhaps the pigheadedness, that caused the agent to fight back just as hard.

In the end the peacemaker ended up being an eight year old girl.

Having heard the fighting, the little girl came over, double checking that Gibbs had not turned into a monster by mistake. After deciding that he was indeed still a good King, the two men rather childishly told her the problem, not really expecting her to give an opinion on the matter.

"Oh, don't be silly!" she had laughed "The king _always_ sleeps on the bed!"

Ugh. It was two against one now, seeing as Ducky nor Maggie opted an opinion and with Maddie on the case, he was forced into the bedroom.

It wouldn't have worked if she wasn't so damn cute.

So here he was now, at three in the morning, walking around the detective's room, wondering if it would be considered an invasion of privacy if he went through that box in corner.

Eh…What DiNozzo doesn't know won't hurt him.

Working his way across the room, Gibbs sat down cross legged on the black carpeted floor and pulled off the lid, now that his curiosity was obviously getting the better of him.

They were full of…Letters?

Not just any letters, but thank-you letters. The ones that were often given after a case, usually by the victim's family or friends. Just people thanking you for doing your job basically, and giving them some peace in mind that the killer, drug dealer, or whoever, was safely behind bars. Gibbs got a couple of these a week.

He never really kept them though. It wasn't like he threw them out. He read them, would smile (after making sure no one was around), and maybe put them on the fridge or whatever. Not put them all in a box.

Huh. Another peculiar thing about Anthony DiNozzo to add to the ever growing list. It wasn't that he just kept them in the box, but it judging by the worn paper, it looked as though they had been read again and again several times.

Fascinating…Was this some kind of self-praise or something? He made a mental note to give this small intimation to Ducky for his profile. Picking up a note, he flipped it open and scanned through the words.

_Detective DiNozzo,_

_I know, I know. You have told me a million times to call you Tony, but I just can't! I always just seemed to address people formally… Don't ask me why._

_You seemed to shy away when I tried to thank you yesterday. Your partner told me that you always respond to praise better when it is written, so I figured I would write this for you just to show you my gratitude._

_Not many people could- hell, __**would **__do what you did for me and my family. When Jamie disappeared the officers kept telling me that they were doing everything they could do- basically waiting. Then you come along, and start helping- It wasn't even your case! You just insisted on helping! Not only that but you found my baby boy. Detective- Tony- I couldn't stop crying when you walked through that door with Jamie. I honestly thought I would never see him again. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me that hope and bringing my only child back. My husband and I can't find anyway to repay you. If there is anything you ever need, please contact us._

_Sincerely,_

_Julie Kingston_

Gibbs read and reread the letter, trying to grasp everything written in the elegant, blotched writing. 'Your partner told me that you always response to praise better when it is written'. What? That didn't make sense. Gibbs may have not known the kid for very long, but he seemed to drink up attention like he did coffee. Frowning, he wondered if his earlier thoughts of self-praise had been correct. Was it possible, that the reason the man kept all these letters was to reward himself or something? When he felt he did a good job, to look a compliment someone else had written him? Jethro made a mental note to test his theory out later as he put the letter carefully back into the box and shut the lid on tight.

Brushing himself off, he decided that he may as well explore some more now that he saw _that_ much. Wandering to the man's dresser he mainly found what was to expected…Clothes. Though, there was a spare gun further towards the back which struck Gibbs as odd. He had seen DiNozzo's spare in his freezer…and between the cushions on the couch…and behind the mirror in the bathroom. Damn. How many guns did the guy own?

Shaking his head, Gibbs closed the drawer and looked around. It was then that he realized just how bare it was. A bed, the box, the dresser, and a few movie posters. That was it. The only photos he had seen in entire apartment were the ones on top of the bookcase, and it occurred to the older man, that none of those had been of any of his family members.

Why. Was. This. So. Frustrating? The worst part, was that Gibbs still had no idea why he was so upset by all of this. Who _cared_ if the kid was disowned, or that his mother was dead? Who gave a damn that he lived in a relatively dangerous place? Or that he wasn't sleeping in his own bed? Who fucking _cared_?

Deciding it was safest to distract himself, he let his mind focus on the case. John Payne. That was the only person who needed to worry about right now…

"Hello?" Gibbs smirked as he heard the yawn across the line on the cellphone. There were times where he kind of liked living up to that second B for bastard.

"Morning Detective Smith." He greeted as he entered the bathroom, glancing at an array of hair products and silently wishing there was some Nair he could slip into them…

"Agent Gibbs? Its three a.m. Why are you calling exactly?"

"I want an update on the case."

"Seriously? I thought I was pretty clear on the time." Alex yawned again and Gibbs waited for the man to continue. After about ten minutes of silence the other man finally spoke again. "How's Tony doing?"

What? Of all the things in the world to say right then…

"Fine."

"Care to go into further detail?"

"No." There was an awkward silence before an audible sigh was heard clearly on the other end of the phone.

"Your forensic scientist- Abby?- Well she e-mailed me the autopsy report and the forensics on the case. Said something about how you wouldn't be able to send it to me because you're technology challenged." There was a small chuckle before he continued "I also have Robert Peace in custody." Gibbs nodded to himself, remembering how they went to interview the man, but he was on a hunting trip, leaving him and DiNozzo- or rather just DiNozzo to talk to the sister.

"You interrogate him yet?"

"Nope. I think Tony should have this one. Oh, and I talked to Payne's family. I have both the mother and father here as well. I talked to the Mom already, but not the Father…Should I save him for you?"

"You should have saved them all for me." Gibbs told the detective, though not as forcefully as he would have done to anyone else. The guy knew how to do his job, he'd give him that much.

"So…How _is_ Tony?" Alex suddenly asked. A small smile tugged on Gibbs lips when he remembered the reaction the detective had when he found out that Tony had been injured. The poor man had nearly had a heart attack, but with Gibbs' convincing, agreed not to come charging into the apartment.

"He'll be fine. A little banged up. Refused to go to the hospital though, probably should have too."

"Yeah…He has a…Eh, I wouldn't call it a _fear_ exactly, but pretty close to it, of hospitals. His mom died in one when he was eight you know? Bad memories there, especially with Amelia and all."

"Amelia?"

"Mmm-hmm… I think her death was worse on him because they were so close, plus he got disowned right afterwards." Alex told him and Gibbs felt his eyes narrow.

"Who's Amelia?" he asked- or more like demanded at this point. There was a long pause on the other side of the line and some fidgeting heard.

"Um…I'll see you tomorrow Agent Gibbs." The detective said in a poor attempt to get off of the subject that Alex clearly hadn't known was off-limits. Scowling, he snapped his phone shut without a reply. Fine. He didn't need the man to tell him anyway.

With another flip of his phone, he pressed number two on his speed dial and waited till' the third ring.

"What do you want?" an irritable voice sounded.

"Answers. I'm guessing for you though, it is a Caff-Pow." He told the Goth with a small smile.

"Gibbs." Abby said with only a dash of enthusiasm "It's three in the morning. What could you possibly need aside from more sleep- which you are obviously allergic to."

"I need to find out how an 'Amelia' is connected to DiNozzo." He told her, well aware that this wasn't a typical call for either of them…And the two had, had some very strange conversations.

"You want me to…What? Gibbs! I just gave you the man's life in a total of two days. You want _more_ on him?" she demanded and Gibbs shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"You saying you can't do it?" he asked and Abby gave a small, indignant sniff.

"I resent the very sound of that. Of course I can do it. Though…It would be easier if I had a last name."

"Don't got one for you."

"Maybe a Caff-Pow?"

"Put on my tab." He told her and clicked the phone shut.

* * *

Tony knew he was in trouble the moment the knocking started. He was briefly reminded of a horror film. Where you knew the monster was coming, you just didn't know when. And when the thing finally did come, everything was in slow motion.

_That_ was what it was like.

"You going to answer the door DiNozzo?" Gibbs called from the kitchen and Tony jumped. Damn, when had he gotten up? Tony peered over the couch and wondered vaguely how the man even knew he was awake. Huh. The mysteries of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered and crept quietly to the front door, thinking of the best self-defense moves to use against his attacker. Should he go Gandhi or Jackie Chang?

"Anthony DiNozzo!" a very pissed off voice hissed when he flung the door open, going with Plan B: Open the door and run away.

"Uh…Hey Vanessa." He said from behind his fortress- or rather his TV.

"I get to visit you for _one damn week_ and what do you go do? You get hurt. Again. Freaking lunatic." She was about half-way to Tony when, to his luck, Ducky appeared, running into the younger woman.

"Wha-? Ah!" she shrieked and took a step back. "I…Tony you didn't tell me you had a guest!" she accused and the man peered over the top of the television so that just his eyes and forehead was visible.

"I didn't really get a chance to say a whole lot, Ness." he told her and the girl let her eyes wander over to the kitchen where she saw Gibbs attempting to figure out how Tony's coffee maker work.

"My dear, I do not believe we have had the pleasure of being introduced." Ducky told her, reaching out to grab her hand. "I'm Doctor Donald Mallard, though my friends call me Ducky…And I rather do insist we become friends."

"Oh…Um…I'm Vanessa Smith." Vanessa told him, looking slightly still shocked from the appearance of the two strange men her friend's apartment as well as the relatively warm introduction.

From the kitchen, Gibbs peered over at the girl. She was tall, with dark, curly hair and vivid blue eyes. He tried to remember what Abby had told him about Alex Smith's daughter…Wasn't she going to Standford or something? Law school? Ugh, he hated lawyers.

"…and that is Gibbs over there." Ducky was chattering happily. It seemed odd to some that the elderly doctor was talking to a girl he had randomly met in someone else's home, when she obviously wasn't usually there, but then again, those some people didn't know Ducky. "He isn't a very talkative one, it is best if you stay frank with him…Something Anthony hasn't yet to understand I'm afraid."

With one glance over at DiNozzo it was official they had both reached something they could agree on. Ducky and Vanessa were going to be the cause of a _long_ morning.

* * *

Tony had given up on having coffee. Vanessa had insisted he fill her in on anything and everything that had happened from the last time she visited up until the very second. Then, when he had finally shrugged her off to go get dressed, the coffee was gone.

So he had painfully made another pot to pour himself a glass.

Then the coffee monster himself took the wonderful mug out of hands and drank it.

Selfish little bastard. Get your own damn coffee…

So here he was at eight in the morning without coffee and with his partner's daughter fawning over him, now teamed up with a very amiable doctor.

Did Gibbs come to his rescue? Of course not. Like he said before, selfish little bastard…

Deciding it was some time to get some relief, Tony managed to slip out the door before they had to go back to the office to_ finally_ relax.

Now, Tony was not a smoker. He knew what those cigarettes did to you. He wasn't dumb by any means. Hell, his mother had died from fucking lung cancer. He knew.

However, sometimes blowing out that smoke really could calm you down. Even if it was just once every couple months. Which was really, really what he needed right then. Just something to calm him and ease the stress until it was time to head back into the office.

"That stuff can kill you." With a small groan, he glanced over, cursing Gibbs' quiet feet.

"So I've heard." He answered dully and blinked when the agent plucked the cigarette out of his hands and threw it on the floor. So much for his relaxing time…

"Hey." He frowned sadly it "I don't do it all that often."

"Once in a lifetime is too often." Gibbs told him and Tony bristled.

"Come on Gibbs." He said, now slightly annoyed "You're in Baltimore. People smoke all the time. It isn't like I have a pack a day or anything."

"Weren't you raised in a wealthy family?" Gibbs said with an equally aggravated tone.

"Yeah. So? Do you think that people with more money don't smoke? Gibbs, my mother died of lung cancer. My Dad still smokes…I think… I don't really know to be honest. Point is, the only difference between them and me is that one- I can't afford fancy cigars and two- I've only done it like a grand total of six times in my life."

"No need to make it seven."

"It's not like I had the plague or anything. Jeez." He scowled and considered getting another one out of the pack, just to annoy the older man, but thought better of it. "We better go." He sighed "I want to finish up this case so I can sleep. Plus, I have to talk to the captain tomorrow anyway." He told him and then bit his lip thoughtfully "Or not…" he added more to himself. By the look on his face, it was obvious the younger man was having some kind of internal debate.

"Gibbs." He said suddenly "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Gibbs yawned, and waited for Tony to carry on. When he continued staring off into space, he gave him a sharp, impatient nudge. "Well?" he demanded.

"Is it a bad thing to get too close to your partner? Like, to the point it clouds your judgment?" Tony asked and Gibbs blinked in surprise. That was probably the last thing he expected to come out of his mouth, though it was actually not a bad question.

"It could be." He shrugged "But, it also means you have a better chance of watching your partner's six."

"Watching your partner's what?"

"Watching your six, DiNozzo. Means 'watching your back'. You know, like a clock. If you're facing forward, that's twelve. Six is behind you."

"Huh…That's pretty cool. 'Got your six!' Kind of catchy don't you think? Kind of like a motto or something…" Tony then proceeded to chant the phrase repeatedly until Gibbs stuck out his foot, effectively tripping the man.

"Ow…" he groaned as he got up off the ground and glared. "You did that on purpose!"

"Yep." Gibbs told him as he got into the car, smirking slightly at DiNozzo's wary face. Very slowly, he got in, making a show of putting on his seatbelt and then gripping the handles of the car violently. Snorting, Gibbs flung the car out of the driveway, belting it up to 60 mph through the tiny neighborhood.

"You thinking about leaving?" Gibbs asked him as he spun around a curve.

"Baltimore? Maybe. What makes you think that?" Tony wheezed.

"You're question. Made it sound like you were leaving."

"Truthfully? The opposite. I'm thinking about staying." Huh. Gibbs for the life of him couldn't identify the strange feeling that went through him just then. It reminded him of the time he had first asked Shannon out and she said no. Though he couldn't quite understand how the love of his life saying 'no' to him and a whiny little cop staying in Baltimore held any connections what so ever. Gibbs supposed that if you took away the raw humiliation and rejection from Shannon's case he could still feel that unidentified emotion. Kind of like sadness but not quite…What the hell was it?

Deciding it was best not to ponder of something as trivial and meaningless as what he was feeling because DiNozzo was staying in Baltimore (maybe), Gibbs didn't respond. He simply ignored a honking driver as he sped around them.

* * *

Robert Peace paced up and down the interrogation room, looking as though he was a man condemned to death. Tony smiled slightly at the image. He had spent the last thirty minutes watching the guy, as well as reviewing his file.

"Are you going to actually go in there or can I?" Gibbs snapped and Tony looked up innocently.

"I like to know my opponent before I crush them." He said simply and then looked down at the file again. Part of the reason for this was really just to annoy Gibbs. Tony didn't know why, but he the guy didn't take up to his usual charm, so he decided it was the safest bet to go with the annoying route. The agent seemed smart and perceptive. Two qualities that Tony didn't like one person to have. It was safer to keep those people away.

Finally, after another ten minutes, Tony exited the room, leaving Alex and Gibbs to watch through the observation room.

"He screws up once, I'm going in there." Gibbs muttered. He didn't like be left out of an interrogation, but Alex had insisted and insisted that DiNozzo could handle it. He also told the agent that he wouldn't regret watching Tony's interrogation method- whatever the hell that meant.

"Hello Mr. Peace." Tony walked in, a bright smile plastered onto his face. He reached out, shaking the grungy man's hand as if he was the president of the United States before continuing.

"It is _so_ nice to _finally_ meet you! Tell me, how is Marie?" he asked and Gibbs' mouth dropped. _What?_

"Uh…" Peace said, obviously not expecting such a warm and cordial welcome. He dropped into the nearest chair, running a hand through long, stringy brown hair. "I don't know." He said "Haven't gotten to see her since I had been picked up by all of you people."

"Ah, of course, of course. We'll have to make this quick then. Can't keep siblings separated can we? Well, before we officially begin though, I have to say, I truly admire your name. Peace. Tell my Robert, do you believe you live up to your name? Are you a peaceful man?"

"Well…I…I guess I would say so." Robert said, watching Tony critically, though his posture was no longer tense.

"Hm. Rob- Do you mind if I call you Rob? We better not start this out by lying to each other. Everything would go a lot smoother if we were honest. That was a test question, kind of like of Jeopardy. Love that show, Alex Trebek is terrific. Anyway, I know about your…Was it three juvenile records? All assaults." He clucked "Not good Rob…Not good. So why don't we try that again? Do you consider yourself a peaceful man Rob?"

"Look, I had some problems in the past, but I'm better now! I'm an adult!"

"You were just hunting no less than two days ago."

"Since when has that been against the law?"

"Since hunting people became off-limits." Tony told him and slapped down several pictures of a dead John Payne on the table and Peace's eyes widened.

"I didn't do that." He said quickly and Tony smiled.

"Alright. Can you tell me if you know this man?" he asked and all he got is quietness in response. DiNozzo let him say nothing for a moment before getting up and exiting the room. Alex smiled slightly as Tony reentered, this time carrying three pillows.

"So Rob." He said, putting the three pillows down in front of him. "I have a question for you. When talking to your sister, she told me a handy little fact that you don't hunt birds. Why?" he asked conversationally, while taking out a pair of scissors.

"Not very good and killing birds." Peace muttered, his face turning a brilliant shade of red.

"Huh. Because your file says here that you have ornithophobia, or also known as the fear of birds…Odd thing to have isn't it?" Tony inquired with a sunny smile, now cutting open the pillows. Instantly the other man stiffened, having figured out what exactly DiNozzo's plan was.

"Don't you love these pillows? Made with real goose feathers." Tony told him, twirling the feather around his fingers. Still grinning, he attempted to tickle underneath the man's chin, who quickly jumped up and backed away.

"Not ticklish huh? Too bad." Tony clucked and dumped the feathers on the table. "So let's play it like this. Every time I ask a question. You answer. You answer right? You go onto the next round of Jeopardy. You answer wrong?" Tony took a handful of feathers and made his way to Peace, purposely dropping a few on the other man's head. "We won't go there for now…but I'm sure the birds will do the talking right?" he asked the now grief stricken suspect.

"Good. Now question one. Do you know John Payne?" there was a moment where it looked like Peace wouldn't answer, but after Tony picked up a single feather he blurted out.

"I've seen him!"

"Where?"

"I…I…Just around!"

"Around _where_ exactly?"

"Well...He and Marie would hang around a lot." He breathed out, wincing as Tony flicked another feather towards him.

"Your sister? Was there anything romantic going on between the two of them? Were there friends? Is he somehow a relative?"

"I don't know! I mean, I know we're not related to him, but I don't know how they know each other. Marie and him would just hang around each other a lot." He winced.

"Were either of them involved in anything illegal?"

"What? No! I don't know about Payne, but Marie would _never_, I mean…She's my baby sister. She would never be involved with _anything_ like that!"

"That's what they all say Rob. Alright, so you want to hear my theory? I think you found out your _baby sister_ was having a little action and you got ticked off. Am I right?"

"What? No!"

"Caw-caw!" Tony added, making bird noised and flicked a few feathers forward.

"I swear! Oh my god, I swear I don't know anything else!"

"Where were you three days ago around the time 2000 to 0100?"

"Driving! I was going on my hunting trip!"

"Do you have anyone who can verify that?" Tony asked and Robert gave a frantic shake of his head, now looking white and slightly faint.

"Can…Can I have a lawyer?"

"Sure Rob. I know this great guy. Name is Crow Falcon. Awesome lawyer. I think he can get you out of the _flock_ of trouble you just might be in." Tony smiled, snickering at his own joke.

"I…I…" Peace whispered with his eyes the size of plates now. "I know that when Marie mentioned him to me, she said something about his Dad and him getting into a fight!" he said desperately "Over something about money!" Tony leaned back, seeming to consider this for a moment before getting up suddenly, and reaching out his hand jovially.

"Thank you, thank you Mr. Peace. I hope you enjoyed your stay with us! If you wouldn't mind, you can ask the escort for a survey on your way out." He beamed before strutting out of the room, leaving a very confused man behind him.

Gibbs blinked in slight annoyance and perhaps a smidge of awe that the detective had gotten in and out of the room in no less then fifteen minutes…Even if his style was a bit…Unorthodox. Where did he learn to interrogate anyone? Clown school? Mental ward?

"I love screwing with people." Tony laughed from the doorway.

* * *

"Your son is dead."

"So I've heard." Marcus Payne told Gibbs coolly. The agent didn't respond, he simply leaned back and looked at the other man across from him. From looks, the guy seemed well mannered, sophisticated, and an overall respectable man. Largely built with a mass of white hair that was clipped short and piercing blue eyes that hid behind small, round glasses, matched the aura of the finely dressed man.

At first glance, one would think that the red eyes Payne wore was from crying over the death of his son, but Gibbs knew better. The bastard was hung over and they all knew it.

"What a coincidence that your son died no later than three days later after your fight." Gibbs said casually as he slowly flipped over the pictures of the victim on the table. "Want to know a fun fact?" he added "I don't believe in coincidences." There was a heavy pause in which the two men continued to stare at one another before the father finally spoke.

"I had nothing to do with this."

"That's what Theodore Bundy said too when asked if he killed thirty-six women."

"If you think I would kill my own blood then-"

"He's not your own flesh. He's adopted. The reason why you two fought was because he still wanted the inheritance money. You said no." Gibbs said matter-of-factly and Payne's lip twitched into a cruel sneer.

"My wife and I took him in, gave him food, water, and god knows what else, and then he treats us like dirt. Then he had the audacity to ask for inheritance money. Of all the nerve." He snarled and Gibbs bit his tongue for a second to prevent from lashing out. Marcus's eyes narrowed vaguely, watching Gibbs critically, like panther would before pouncing on its next meal.

"John and I had an argument. Then he left. Then he showed up dead. Agent Gibbs, I see no solid proof that I had anything to do with his murder."

"Who said anything about murder?" Gibbs asked quietly, leaning forward. He had been staring at him with the same intense gaze for about five minutes now, never once even blinking.

"A detective told me." Came the scorned reply.

"Where were you the night of the attack?"

"Home. My wife can verify that."

"Already did. Interviewed her a while ago…Just so you know, you're not off the hook. I'll be back." Gibbs warned as he rose suddenly, his eyes never once leaving the man's face. Without another word he left the room.

"Why did you leave?" Tony asked as he jogged besides Gibbs to catch up with him. The way he cocked his head up, with such wide eyes that could even rival Maddie's, it was hard not to think of an overgrown puppy "You had him sweating! He was about to break!"

"You think it was him?" Gibbs asked suddenly stopping. Tony stumbled back as he ran forward into the older man, and gave him an unsure look that somehow didn't look right on his face.

"I don't like him." He admitted quietly and Gibbs snorted.

"Doesn't mean he did it DiNozzo."

"I know that!" Tony snapped and then bit his lip "Both suspects still seem to be on pretty shaky alibis. Not to mention both have some form of motivation."

"Alright." Gibbs shrugged as he continued walking again. "Give me a theory."

"What?"

"You deaf DiNozzo? Give me something to work with here." Gibbs shot him, suddenly questioning to himself why he was treating the man like a trainee rather than an equal.

"Well…Motivation for Payne would be because of the inheritance money…Of course John would only inherit the money _after_ his parents were dead, so it would be no use to Marcus to kill him over it. Unless there is someone else in the picture we're missing. Or perhaps Mark killed him when he was drunk…You know, all that deep seated anger hidden and then one too many drinks and BAM! He lost control."

"And Peace?"

"I don't know about Rob. According to him, he barely knew the guy. I think he knows more than he's letting on, or if he isn't there is something important we're missing. Perhaps we should-" Tony froze then, his eyes widening as if something totally marvelous just occurred to him.

"I'll be right back." He said quickly, pulling out his phone as he broke into a run down the hall. Gibbs blinked and considered calling him back, but shrugged it off, deciding whatever was going on in DiNozzo's crazy, movie filled brain, would have to wait…He needed coffee.

* * *

***Present Time***

The group sat thoughtfully around the autopsy room, each one of their own thoughts. After a couple minutes of silence Ziva was the first to speak up, genuine concern lacing her voice.

"You smoked?" she asked and the Senior Field Agent sighed.

"Why does no one listen to me? I only did it a _couple_ times. I haven't even picked up a cigarette in years now." He yawned "After I joined NCIS I think I did it twice and not once since then…" at his words a very prominent scowl formed on Abby's face.

"Yeah. I remember the first time." She said in a very scary, un-Abby like tone. "I almost strangled you." She added matter-of-factly. Tony had the decency to look slightly ashamed before Abby's eyes suddenly went to slits again. "Wait a second…_Twice_?" she suddenly growled "When was the second time?"

Wincing Tony looked at Gibbs for help, but then quickly looked away, as if thinking better of it.

"Uh…Right after Kate died." He admitted.

"But…That was after you had the plague!" McGee announced and Tony rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Yeah…Wasn't a good idea. Even worse when Gibbs found me." He added rubbing his head "My head may have been permanently damaged." From his right, Gibbs' scowl deepened, his eyes telling them all clearly that this was a certain memory that had not been affected.

"So which one of them did it?" Jimmy said at mercy of his friend.

"Can't tell you gremlin. It is part of the story." Tony smiled warmly at the other man. Over the past year or so, Tony felt as though Jimmy was one of the ones that he banded with to keep from falling into his very own personal hell. He almost owed him as much as Gibbs…Though Tony noted with a wry smile that a very large part of him wished that he didn't owe his mentor a damn thing. Speaking of which…

"Do you make it a habit of going through other people's stuff?" he asked almost coldly and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. The word 'hypocrite' was not said, but it might as well have been said from the looks on everyone's faces.

"It's what makes me a good investigator." Jethro told him, and Tony grimaced, making a mental note to remember that comeback for the next time he went through someone else's stuff.

"Even I have limits." He snapped back and Gibbs shrugged, though there may have been a flash of worry in his eyes.

In total honesty, it was more than a flash. Jethro Gibbs was having an internal battle at the moment. He had always hated emotions, they nearly always got in the way. Morals, he liked. Emotions? Hell no. So needless to say that this story was causing all sorts of problems at the moment. Gibbs simply just didn't _worry_ about people. He didn't worry about what they _thought_, what they _said_, or what they _did_ really unless it pertained to a case.

So why was he giving a damn about DiNozzo's opinion right now? It wasn't as though he wanted approval by any means. It was more as if he was afraid of losing something that was already on fragile ground…Whatever that was.

"Boss?" looking beside him, he saw his senior agent looking at him with big green eyes, his voice too quiet for the others to hear as they were talking about the upcoming of the adventure.

"You won't…You _didn't_…You know, tell anyone…Right? About…You know." Tony asked somewhat helplessly.

Truth be told? Gibbs didn't have the dimmest idea what he was talking about. However, judging by the almost panicked and desperate look on the other man's face…He thought it may prove prudent to tell the man what he needed to hear.

"Of course not DiNozzo." He assured and hoped to God he really didn't.

"Hush!" Ducky cut in impatiently before clearing his voice "I think after this next part we ought to take a quick break." Instant arguments began to come up, but Tony quickly jumped in his defense.

"Good idea. I really need to stretch out anyways…Besides this is kind of weird…Hearing a story about yourself."

"One would think that you would enjoy it Tony." Ziva told him with a gently flick on his arm.

"Who says I don't?" he joked back, giving her a small wink. Ziva rolled her eyes in response though quietly questioning why any of this rather…interesting stuff hadn't come up before. Surely this case would be something Tony would brag about…Right?

"Well this next part is rather…What is the right word for it?" Ducky asked.

"Interesting?"

"No, more of-"

"Hectic?"

"No, I was going to say-"

"Exciting?"

"Mr. Palmer! Would you kindly let me finish my thought?"

"Oh…Sorry doctor." Jimmy smiled sheepishly as Ducky let out an irritated huff.

"Personal." Ducky decided. "You see, Anthony's hunch wasn't for the case at all. It was for an entirely _different_ case that he had been working on at the time. He had scurried off to go check it out, and rather foolishly put his life on the line like a player would a deck of cards-"

"Hey! I-"

"Shh!" everyone scowled at him.

"It led to Anthony and Jethro getting into a rather intense and heated argument…"

* * *

**A/N: I liked my number system last time, so I plan to do it again (;**

**I'm going to be honest, I'm not a fan of this chapter. It is the longest chapter I've EVER written yet it still seems too…Choppy? I don't know…**

**Ziva David. I have read everyone's reviews about her concerning her character and whether or not she has/hasn't turned a bit bitchy since then and found some interesting things…Hmm…It gave me a lot to think about actually, so I'm currently doing some character studying. Lol. However, rest assured, I don't think I'm going to be having any pairings in this story…Unless I add in a healthy dose of Jeanne/Tony since that is around the same timeline.**

**SEQUAL! Alright, it is official (: I will be writing one more story that takes place right after this one. I have a basic sketch already done (: For names I kind of want it to have the alliteration thing going on like I did with Baltimore Beginnings…I was throwing around either DC Doubts or Washington Worth…**

**NCIS Spoilers! Because we all know that I love giving these :P Not much has changed, the premiere comes out SEPTEMBER 25TH! And also, If you go onto youtube and write in "NCIS Season X" the promo will show up. There is this really awesome line Gibbs says in it: "He hurt my family." OMG! Gibbs actually SAID the words out loud! I have decided this season will be awesome because of that.**

**Finally, I would like to take the moment to thank you all so very much for your encouragement and beautiful reviews. I smile every time I read them. I wish I could somehow show you my gratitude, but considering I don't actually KNOW any of you…I can't really do that. Lol. So I'll just have to settle for updating this story and trying to make some good chapters (: Oh, and if any of you pointed out any mistakes in the last chapters, know that they are all fixed!**

**Thank you all again!**

**-Love,**

**lNightWriterl**


	9. Chapter 9

**Everybody freeze. Stop what you are doing...and stare in complete shock. No, your eyes are not decieving you...This is an...update! **

**I seriously can not tell you enough how sad it is I haven't updated faster. I think I really took advantage of you guys telling me to take all the time I need (; In my defense though...RL has been a complete bitch. I did force myself to write something today, so I'm proud! Thanks for all your amazing reviews (:**

* * *

~Chapter 9~

***Ten Years Ago***

"Damn it!" Gibbs hissed and he thrust down his phone. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! Why didn't the kid answer his freaking cell?

After the Detective had gone AWOL, Gibbs had figured he would wait for the guy to come back and explain what had him so worked up, but he never did. A few minutes later, an extremely harassed looking Alex came in, asking why the hell his partner had just left him a voicemail that simply said 'Got a lead Al. Going to go undercover to check it out and will be back in about three hours.'

Did DiNozzo have any backup? No. Of course he didn't. Because for one thing, no one knew where the hell he was, and he apparently hadn't had the sense to wait for any.

What an _idiot_.

Frustrated, Gibbs started pacing back and forth, thinking of something- anything that could lead him to the missing detective. He and Alex had already checked the area where the gang usually hung out, knowing that he had meant them when he said 'undercover'. Unfortunately, no one was actually there. They had then took turns trying to contact someone who would know where Tony was, as well as the man himself.

No one knew a damn thing. Which led to the current scenario of Gibbs pacing up and down as he let his mind overflow with theories. Even if this was such a great lead, why the hell did DiNozzo not share it? Was it so urgent he couldn't call for backup? Gibbs was _right there_. All he had to do was turn around and _tell_ him! At the very least give an address when he called his partner! Tapping his lip with his phone Gibbs turned to Alex he was attempting to call Tony again on speaker.

"Hey there! You have reached the one and only Tony DiNozzo! Leave a message and I _will_ get back to you. Ciao I miei amici!" Gibbs scowled and leaned over to the phone could catch his voice after the beep.

"DiNozzo, just so you know, the next time I see your sorry ass again is the last." Leaving the dark threat hanging, he slammed the stupid thing off and glowered.

"If he hasn't answered now, he won't if you call again." He snapped at the other man who completely ignored him and began rummaging through case files.

"Come on…" he muttered and then threw down the thing in final disgust. "Where the hell could he have possibly _gone_?" he hissed before freezing at another sheet of paper.

"Can you track phones Special Agent Gibbs?" he asked and Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think he has it Smith."

"No, but I have three of the gang members' numbers here." Alex grinned, thrusting the sheet at him and Gibbs smirked, flipping open his phone to call Abby.

* * *

"DiCapre!" a voice greeted from the bar and Tony let a small grin play on his lips. One of the things that most of his co-workers and superiors would always compliment him on was his undercover work. It was an amusing thought to be honest, Tony always found slipping into another persona was just too easy.

As a kid, he had loved to play pretend. Pretending that his mother was alive, pretending that his father was around, pretending that he was perfect, pretending, pretending, pretending.

Teachers getting too nosy? He would slip into another little boy's body, smiling and laughing as he told them wild stories of a fish he and his father had never really caught. Coaches asking too many questions? He would roll his eyes and tell them that he frustrated at his lack of finesse at practice.

It always worked, no one ever questioned, and he was good.

It was easier to become somebody else usually, even kind of fun. He was a whole new person with a history _he_ liked, a personality _he_ choose, an attitude _he_ wanted. Hell, what wasn't to love about that?

"Hey there Marco!" Tony bellowed back as he took a seat next to the drug leader. Damn…He had so much freaking evidence he could pin them with for drug dealing. But he didn't turn them in. He wanted them for murder instead.

"You in tonight?" Marco asked, swiping his greasy hair from his eyes.

"Of course! Did you honestly take the time to doubt me?" Tony asked, cocking his head slightly. Around them, more gang members hooted in approval, bringing up the intensity level.

"Nah, you're a smart one." Marco smiled leaning back, ignoring a squawk from Caleb, his once right-hand-man…Before Tony came along that is.

"Of course I am," Tony let himself throughout a full tooth smile "I am with you aren't I?" and Marco threw his head back and laughed, his voice booming off of the walls as the rest of the group dumbly joined in response to their leader's action.

"You'll go far here." Marco stated, his eyes glittering with admiration and approval. Oh yeah, he had him all wrapped around his finger.

"With you could I go any other way?" he flattered back, knowing he may be pushing the kiss-assing a bit too far. Of course, with an arrogant prick like Marco, it was ok to add a little extra.

"Not at all." He smiled warmly back "Not at all…"

* * *

"Your rookie has a lot to learn." Gibbs seethed as they walked towards the bar, weapons pulled out. He was pissed at the amount of time he was wasting looking for DiNozzo instead of a murderer.

Alex didn't answer, he just simply glanced at Gibbs with an uncertain look on his face, as if having some kind of internal dilemma at the moment. Leaning forward, Gibbs peered in the window and cursed. DiNozzo was there alright, sitting right next to all the gang members, with a smug smile on his face.

There were a few things he could do now. One was run in there and ruin his cover, which was slightly tempting at the moment. However, Gibbs didn't want to ruin any chance of them not catching the son of a bitch because of impulsiveness. Waiting was out of the question simply because Gibbs had never once opted in his life to do nothing, and in no condition will he ever.

That didn't leave a whole lot of room to work with. In fact, there was almost no other options. He supposed shooting the kid would work unless…

"Hold these." He muttered to Smith "and tell me everything about his cover." He added as he shoved his badge, gun, and everything fed like into his hands. He really hoped that DiNozzo was good at improvisation. Their lives might depend on it.

If it wasn't illegal and if it didn't kill you, Tony would totally go for drug dealing. Hot babes? Badass guys with guns and knives? The sense of adrenaline? Hell yeah. However, as stated before the only glitch was that he didn't do drugs and…it was illegal. So yeah. Wouldn't really work out.

For Anthony DiCapre it did though. Anthony loved the high of drugs and thrill of doing something illegal. He loved a good secret and used his charm to tease you with it. DiCapre was smug, witty, funny, and charming. A lot like Anthony DiNozzo actually. Except that DiCapre played people, stabbed in the back and sucked up. Which was exactly what he doing now as Marco leaned forward, his heavy alcohol breath on his face.

"I like you." He said drunkly "So I'm going to let you join us tonight in something fun. You have to be loyal though, I would hate to kill you for this."

"I'm all ears." He said in response as he sipped his own beer, would he be in trouble for drinking on duty if it was undercover?

"There's this guy right?" Marco heaved out "He was part of our group man, but he turned us in the feds! We got away, but it was a hell lot of hassle…So we, you know." Marco took a finger over his throat in a cutting motion and Tony silently did a cheer for himself. _Hell_ yeah! Just give the name and you are so freakin busted.

"You mean the John Payne dude?" he asked nonchalantly and Marco frowned.

"Who?" Well, damn. Wasn't him then.

"Navy brat on the news." Tony shrugged "Who'd you whack?" Marco blinked, his glassy eyes drifting around and Tony let him take another sip of his drink.

"Martin Fouler." Ha! Bells rang in Tony's ears as he did a silent jig. Fouler. He got that case a month ago….Well he could mark it solved now, he couldn't wait to tell his wife they caught the bastards.

Tony nodded slowly to Marco, needing the prick to say the details before calling for backup to arrest the prick. Come on…Almost there…

"DICAPRE!" Tony flung around at the sound of his pseudonym, almost wanting to strangle whoever had the nerve to…Oh shit.

Maybe leaving Gibbs without an explanation wasn't a good idea…Why didn't he just call him though? Wait…Oh…Phone….kind of gone….Well damn.

Trying to ignore the impending doom that welled over him, Tony was trying desperately to find a cover to work with the situation. He was so damn _close_.

"Hey there…Freddy." Tony said deciding that Gibbs alias would now be Freddy Krueger from _Nightmare of Elmstreet_…Three guesses on why.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gibbs growled, slamming his hand on the bar counter. Tony noted that his anger was quite real, and the question may actually be genuine…Damn he _could not_ end up alone with this guy tonight.

"Dude!" he cried "I'm trying to get us hooked up!" Gibbs scowled and glared at Marco who was slowly blinking and absorbing the situation.

"Anthony my man, what is going on here?" he asked and Tony let himself give a wary sigh.

"Marco this is Freddy. Freddy, this is Marco. Freddy here is my…" Tony snapped his fingers "What would you call us?" he asked, giving Gibbs a pleading look and Gibbs snorted.

"I would call you a pain in the ass." He told him before turning to Marco "Look, I'm not against him being here or anything, but I have some things he needs to take care of- considering he owes me…A lot." He added with a sideways look at Tony. Well, that message was clear enough.

Marco looked as though he might have protested, but was too drunk to really give a good argument.

"Alright then…I guess we'll have to do that thing tomorrow then. Don't forget what I told you DiCapre." He slurred and Tony assured him he wouldn't, trying to keep all his emotions in check as he followed Gibbs out the bar.

Three…

Two…

One…

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?" It was surprisingly Tony who screamed it, throwing his fist into the wall as they made their way further away from the bar. "I was _this_ damn close to getting him pinned. THIS close! You could have had a murderer in cuffs tonight!" he seethed as he pulled his now bloody knuckles away from the wall.

"Hey!" Gibbs growled and although his tone was much quieter than Tony's it was twice as deadly. With one fluent movement the detective found himself between the wall and Gibbs arm on his throat. "This wouldn't have happened if you had the common sense to _tell someone what you were doing_." He said going right up into his face.

"I left Alex a messa-"

"That wasn't good enough!" Gibbs yelled and pressed into him harder "I don't have time to be screwing around with people who make _my_ job _harder_. I let you in this case and you make another move like that, I'll kick you right back out. We clear?"

"Yes sir." Tony snarled back, his anger swelling. Perhaps because Gibbs was giving off such an accurate imitation of his father that it brought back some resentment in Tony's voice. There was a pause in which he felt himself being released and he jerked away. Gibbs rolled his eyes and continued walking, leaving the younger man to seethe.

So fucking close! With another spur of anger, Tony wheeled around to hit the wall again only to hear a sickening crack as his hand collided with something that was definitely _not_ wall.

Oh _shit_.

Apparently, within Tony's rage, Gibbs had moved back towards him before Tony lashed out. Tony watched in horror as the Agent peeled his face off of the wall, blood running freely from his nose.

"Oh God…" Tony choked out, his anger evaporating "Gibbs I didn't mean…I didn't…I'm sorry!" he gasped out, trying to figure out anyway he could calm the man. Though considering he had just hit the guy on the back of the head hard enough to slam his face in the wall…The chances were slim.

Gibbs wiped off the blood and turned to Tony with a look that could rival any horror movie villain, Police captain, commanding officer, or even an angry girlfriend. He was _so_ dead.

"Not. A. Word." He said in such a low voice Tony had to strain to hear. He gave a faint nod as Gibbs straightened his nose, keeping it aligned. He then brought out a very scary looking knife.

Oh god…Oh god, he really was going to kill him. Just looking at the knife, Tony practically lost control, promising him coffee, his first born child, anything to keep his heart going. Gibbs ignored all of this though as he skillfully grabbed a piece of Tony's shirt and cut it off, using it as a handkerchief.

Without saying another word, the Agent stalked off, leaving Tony to scramble after him.

* * *

Alex took one look at Tony's knuckles and Gibbs' face and sighed. Why? Just why? He was a good man, he paid he taxes and followed the law. He voted and supported his country, helped out with charity. So _why_ did the world feel the need to put these two crazy misfits in his life? Better yet, why did they have to be _together_? It was like two different species colliding.

Bad.

"Do I want to know?" he asked warily and Tony glanced at Gibbs, who didn't respond.

"No." Tony finally said "You really, really don't." Alex paused and looked his partner up and down. To be honest, he didn't really feel like talking to him at the moment. He scared the _crap_ out of him. That should at least qualify for an apology. Tony must have been thinking along the same lines because he leaned against the car and said lowly.

"I'm really sorry Alex." The words were delivered with such sincerity that Alex accepted it without hesitation….Though that didn't mean forgiveness quite yet.

"That's all I get?" he asked lightly and Gibbs made an irritated noise.

"You didn't get your face slammed into a wall." He hissed and Tony bit his lip.

"Sorry…" he began but stopped at the look the older man was giving him.

"You slammed…? Never mind. I am good not knowing." Alex surrendered and looked over at Gibbs. "Uh…I'm going to drive." He announced looking at the two of them "Should I make a stop off at the hospit-"

"NO!" the two both yelled and Alex snorted as he slammed the car door shut. Well that was fine. He just wouldn't remind either of them that Vanessa and Doctor Mallard were both back at the station, waiting for them.

* * *

Pissed is such a subjective term. The word that Gibbs would be feeling right now would be more along the lines of…Excruciatingly angry or…Irritatingly livid…Those sounded about right. Because as much as he wanted to kill DiNozzo for slamming his head against that wall…He couldn't really hold him against him forever…

Well…Yeah he could…and he probably will, but in a not angry kind of way. Gibbs understood the anger of being so close to finishing a case, and then having the last line snatched away from you.

The thing is, the kid didn't have backup. Or anyone who knew what he was doing. If he _did_ have at least _one_ of those things, Gibbs would have let him finish the job…But he didn't and Gibbs had no idea what he was doing…So he couldn't just watch.

Either way he wasn't happy with his obviously broken nose. Gibbs swore to the end of the earth he would somehow get even with him. Even if it meant hitting him in the back of the head for the rest of his life.

Gibbs considered making a comment on Alex's painfully slow driving as they passed by Wal-Mart. There should be a law that states if you can read a store's sale prices, you are going to slow.

Just as the agent opened his mouth to voice his opinions, his phone let out a shrill, which he answered with his usual 'Yeah, Gibbs'.

"I got good news and bad news."

"Let's hear it Abs."

"Well the good news is that I found Amelia. The bad news is there are three possible candidates. One is Amelia Watson, who he went to college with and had psychology class with. The second Amelia Drakes who he arrested three years ago in Philadelphia and the last…" she let out a long pause for a moment.

"Abs. Who's the last one?" he asked her, making sure DiNozzo wasn't paying attention to any details that might give away what he was talking about.

"The last one is probably the one you're looking for."

"Ok…"

"Amelia DiNozzo."

"Cousin?"

"No, sister."

"I thought he was-"

"He is Gibbs. She died when he was twelve. I've been trying to get into the files all day, but the most I can get was that she was murdered. After that, she was never mentioned again. Heck, in Tony's record, he annihilated anything containing her from his file."

"Is that legal?"

"The way he did it, it is. Got a lawyer to sign off on it and everything. Pretty air-tight stuff, if you were doing a normal background check, you would never find it. You would have to be looking Gibbs.."

"Thanks Abs. I owe another Caff-Pow." He told her as he clicked the phone shut.

"Was that Abby?" Tony asked as he looked back.

"Yeah." Gibbs told him shortly, the expression on the detective's face made it clear that he wanted more details, but was trying in vain not to tick off Gibbs any more than he already had.

Wise choice.

Silence thrummed loudly in the car the next couple moments as they drove. Tony tapping absent mindedly on the window of the car as Alex drove (slowly) along the freeway, leaving Gibbs to his own thoughts.

He could understand wanting to put the past away. After Shannon and Kelly were murdered he made it hard for anyone else to find out about them… Maybe it was like that. Right? Though even as he thought of it his gut turned...

He needed coffee.

* * *

**Author's Note...**

**1.) First and most importantly thank you for reading and please review!**

**2.) OMG! I loooovvvvveeeeddddd 10X01! Was it not amazing? The only thing I wasn't sure about was this... Tim wasn't nearly as dramatically hurt as I expected...I mean they were all like "Tim was significantly hurt compared to everyone else" and I'm all thinking "HOLY CRAP! HE LOST AN ARM!" or something and then...Stitches. That was pretty anticlimatic there my friends. And what happened to those Tiva moments? I didn't see anything really happening other then "Would you rather be stuck down here with this guy?" and then "No!" then some laughing and the sad moment where they realize those people might be dead...That was rather smh too. Other than that I loved it! Gibbs was so adorable (: Then he goes and stabs Dearing and I'm just shaking my head thinking that he had it coming...**

**3.) Alright, serious thing-to-know. So, as far as "Amelia" goes in my story, know that she is in no way shape or form going to be alive in any story of mine. She's very much...dead. I was kind of nervous when I wrote this cause I felt as though I was drifting away from the cannon too much. This story is obviously AU, but I don't want to make it that unrealistic. I just always noticed Tony always making sister references such as "You hit like my sister", "I feel like I kissed my sister.", and along those lines. And when questioned about it he always says "I AM an only child" or "I DO NOT have a sister." You know, present tense. So, it is plausible for him to have a dead sister in my little world. It would shed some light on his character wouldn't it? I just want to know what YOU guys think of this. Like I said, this is the most AU thing I'll do in this story as far as getting off of cannon, so I need some thoughts here.**

**4.) Next update should be sooner than the this one! Thanks for reading and please review (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Thanks for being so patient with me while I got this next chapters up. Personally, I really liked this one (: Hope you guys do too!**

* * *

~Chapter 10~

***Present Time***

The sound of the chair slamming back was deafening. Everyone jumped, watching Tony storm out of Autopsy with anger they didn't know he possessed…

"Was it something that I said?" Ducky murmured to himself, his face pinched with worry. Abby was rocking back and forth, her lower lip trembling as her best friend hit a glass in anger, having it splinter across the floor.

No one spoke for a moment, before Jimmy got up.

"I'll go talk to him." He said, his voice more confident than it usually was. Behind the round glasses, his eyes were wide with concern.

"Palmer stay here." Gibbs told him, standing up and Jimmy instantly backed down, though his face held a bit of reluctance.

"Agent Gibbs-"

"Stay. Here." Gibbs snapped at him and walked over to the door, the sound of glass crunching underneath his feet as he reached the elevator.

Tony wasn't known to have a temper. His version of revenge was usually slow and thought out, almost always underestimated. It was part of the reason that if you made Tony mad, you really only made him mad once.

However, on a few occasions, Gibbs had seen when the younger agent had been pushed too far, his buttons hit in just the right places, he would explode like a nuclear bomb. The night in the alley way was the first time he had seen DiNozzo act in total anger, and the second was when a victim had been a close friend of his, and he had to sit out of the case. It had turned out that the father had done it, and it pretty much sent Tony over the edge.

Now? Gibbs didn't have the foggiest idea what had been done to make the younger man react the way he did. Unless…

_"Boss? You won't…You didn't…You know, tell anyone…Right? About…You know."_

At the time, Gibbs had not the faintest clue what he was talking about, however, looking back now… Perhaps he had reassured him too quickly.

* * *

Hit…After hit…After hit…After fucking hit.

Tony felt the blood running freely down his now bruised knuckles as he took another swing at the punching bag.

Stupid stories.

Stupid secrets.

Stupid god damn bosses.

He hated them all. All of them. Gibbs had no right! No right, to tell _anyone_ about Amelia! It was supposed to be _secret_, as in _not telling anyone_. She was _his_ sister that _no one _was supposed to know about!

_And just why are you so upset exactly? Is it really that big deal that they found out about me?_ Her voice echoed through his head.

"Mel…Please don't." he sighed, leaning his head on the bag.

_Don't what? Tell you the truth? I'm just saying T-Man that you aren't really that upset they found out._

"Yes I am."

_No you're not._

"Am too."

_Are not._

"Too."

_Not._

"Ugh, now you just sound like Kate." He groaned and he heard her laugh from somewhere inside his head.

_That was one of the reasons you liked Kate right? She reminded you of me._

"She died like you too."

_Low blow there Tony…Real low._

Tony allowed a small smile to play on his lips and he finally looked down at his hands, surprised to find the amount of blood that was caked on them.

_You should probably get that looked at. _

"You don't say?"

_I do say. I was going to be a doctor, remember? I made you get checkups when we were 10, and the maid walked in that one time and thought I was going to strangle you when I was checking those things in your neck._

"Lymph nodes?"

_Hey, don't judge. I didn't actually get to go to med school or anything. Not like that girl you have back home… Jeanne? She's pretty. Kind of looks like me too. _

"Don't flatter yourself Mel."

_She's a doctor too! Just like yours truly over here. I bet that's why you like her so much. She reminds you of me, except she's…not actually your sister so you can like…Date her and stuff…Ew! Now that I think about, when you guys have sex, do you think-_

"Oh God Amelia! Shut up!"

_Hey, I'm not the one fantasizing about my dead sister._

"You're disgusting. How do you even know about this kind of stuff?"

_I know what you know Sherlock. I'm a figment of your imagination…Which reminds me, we're getting off topic. You need to talk to Gibbs._

"Ha, I don't think so."

_You're not mad at him._

"I am actually."

_Well…Maybe a little. But you're going to forgive him…He's like the good guy version of Dad, you know? Or what you want Dad to be like. Besides, you're not upset about him telling Ducky about me. This is a trust thing._

"Wow, were you always this insightful?"

_Don't like the sarcasm there. Remember, I'm exactly three minutes older than you._

"Didn't stop me from beating the kids up that messed with you."

_Didn't stop me from doing the same thing for you._

"Touché."

_Just talk to him Tony…And try not to kill anyone. I can tell you're still angry._

"DiNozzo?" at the sound of the voice, Tony felt his anger rise up again, striking with a vengeance.

"Get away." He said coldly, wincing as his hands began bleeding again. Gibbs walked over, ignoring his command as he took in Tony's appearance. He hadn't really changed. His suit was still on, though his jacket was flung to the side and his shirt was messed up. His hair was mussed and sweat trickled down his face mixed in with blood from when he touched his face.

"You should probably get that looked at." He said and Tony flinched for a moment as though he had just said something painful.

"What do you want?" he sighed and Gibbs walked over, tugging at his sleeve for him to follow. Tony paused, looking as though he was about to refuse, but in the end shuffled a few feet behind his boss.

Once they made their way to a bench, Gibbs brought out a first aid kit and began working on Tony's bloody hands, not saying anything.

"You shouldn't have told him." The younger agent finally spoke.

Silence.

"You swore to me you wouldn't."

Silence.

"It isn't really the fact they know as much as you stabbed me in the back." Instantly Gibbs froze, his eyes narrowing and Tony knew he hit the right spot.

"I _never_ stabbed you in the back." Gibbs snarled.

"Really? What would you call it then? Lying? Betraying trust? Going behind me? What is it exactly? Not to mention I _asked_ you back there if you told anyone and you said you _didn't_." Gibbs let out a wary sigh, looking Tony in the eyes again.

"I just lost my memory DiNozzo. Did you really think I had any idea what you were talking about?"

"Well that's the thing isn't it? You could have _told_ me that. You could have told me a lot of things actually."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gibbs snapped, gripping Tony's hands a bit too tight so he took a quick intake of pain before speaking again.

"How is it fair, that you waltz in, go through my life like it is a deck of cards, find out about Amelia, and then never once say anything about Shannon and Kelly?"

"How is that your business?"

"How was Amelia yours?" Tony's voice had risen up to a shout. "How is that you demand all my trust, yet you sit there telling me nothing!? Why am I being taken for granted?" something sparked up inside of Gibbs and he knew they just weren't talking about Amelia anymore.

"Taken for granted…" he repeated slowly.

"I sit there for how many years again? And do nothing but watch your six, take care of the jobs you don't want, and whatever. I never really cared or asked for anything because guess what? You're my partner and duh, of course I would do it. Then you just got up and left, leaving me with a team _you _broke! Do you understand I had to walk around, calming a crying Abby down every single day? Or ignore the annoyed looks Ziva and Tim gave me because they thought _I _couldn't _do_ it? Not to mention everyone telling me again and _again_ that I _wasn't_ you so I had better stop trying. No. I did a damn good job getting everything back together and you know what? You come back without so much as _warning_ me. Just shove all my stuff to the side without even a goddamn thank you! Oh, by the way you're welcome. Also, in case you were wondering yes I _did_ want you back. How the hell did you think your lights and water worked when you got back? Do I get a bonus for paying your utility bill, because I was just _that_ desperate for you to come back?" Ripping his hand away, Tony got up, completely ignoring Gibbs' shocked face as he attempted to walk away.

"Hey. HEY!" he called out, jumping up to spin the agent back around "I didn't know you needed to be told anything when you clearly did a good job." He spat spitefully out, watching Tony's face for any reaction. When there wasn't any he continued, slightly more cautiously "Perhaps I should have warned you that I was back. Maybe I should have thanked you. Truth is though, I still don't really remember much of anything. I remember Abby, but I can't say for sure if she was the stuttering newbie on the team or the outgoing genius. I remember Ziva, but I can't tell if she was the ex-Mossad officer or ex-secret service. Did McGee talk to dead people, or was that Ducky? I. Don't. Know!" As he stressed the last words, it hit him just how much he hated not knowing. When he woke up in that stupid hospital room, all he could think about was his beautiful wife and daughter… He didn't know who those other people were. He didn't care.

Tony watched for a moment through impassive eyes for a moment, not responding.

"Tony?" the two men turned towards the sound of the voice and Gibbs silently cursed. There couldn't have been a worse time for her to enter.

"Jenny…Er, Director." Tony quickly corrected himself. The redhead eyed the situation closely for a moment or two, absorbing the obvious friction.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked quietly and Gibbs gave her a filthy look. What did she honestly _think_?

"No ma'am." Tony smiled and walked by her side loyally. For a moment Gibbs could have sworn he saw red in the most literal sense. For a second he wasn't entirely for sure why, but then it hit him that while he was gone, someone else must have filled in his position as a mentor for Tony.

_Damn _you Jenny.

He swore that he heard Tony call her boss even once, they _would _need a new director.

"There are no cases are there Tony? Why don't you go home and take the rest of the day off?" Jenny asked and the younger agent's face brightened.

"Thanks." He told her warmly and left without so much as another glance at his boss.

For a second, only silence filled the room before Jenny whirled around and glared at Gibbs.

"What do you think you're doing? I need him focused!" she nearly shouted at him. Gibbs' eyes narrowed. Was this about the top secret mission he knew basically _nothing_ about?

"For _what_?" he sniped back and the director let her eyes turn into slits.

"You know he is undercover, and if you keep playing with him like that he won't be able to keep his emotions in check. I mean it when I say leave him the hell _alone_."

"So you can use him."

"Don't act as though you haven't." she said darkly, pushing right up against him so she could jab a finger in his chest. "Besides, I never once abandoned him. Who do you think he'll trust more?" she asked and looked him straight in the eyes when he didn't answer.

"Where's the rest of your team?" she finally said when her old partner didn't respond.

"Autopsy." He told her shortly and without another word she left the room, leaving Gibbs to stare at the red flakes of blood that had fallen to the floor.

* * *

**It is a bit short, but I liked the flow of it. Now onto some rather important A/Ns...(:**

**1.) Saw the second episode! It was pretty epic (: I loved Abby's brother with all my heart (he hugged Gibbs, lol. Definitely related!)...Though I felt we should have seen Abby telling Kyle about their "bond" and his reaction to it. Also, while I was dramatized with the thought of losing our beloved orange paint...I was a bit disappointed when it didn't happened. I feel like I want a bit more change for the series don't you think? Not just the color of the paint obviously, but it would have been symbolic. **

**2.) Alright, this is just something that has been nagging at me, so I need some opinions. When I was talking about change a couple sentences ago? :P I was kind of wondering what everyone else wanted to see happen this season. I feel like for one thing- Tony needs a team. I know, I know we can't stand the thought of him leaving but let's face it. It is TIME! God, he's going to be a grandfather when he gets promoted if he keeps it up! Plus, I think that he could get a team in DC and it would expand a whole lot more on everyone's relationships in a new way. Like Tony coming to Gibbs for advice over leader matters, or Tim realizing JUST how much Tony did for him and Tony realizing JUST how much Tim did for _him_. You know that kind of thing. I also need some romance over here- Ziva, Tim, Tony- Hell, even Gibbs...Not Gibbs. He just had his fling with Dr. Ryan, but the rest of them you know? Alright. Done with that!**

**3.) Lastly (because I know you're sick of hearing me talk...er write. Whatever) I need a favor. So...I have a goal right? To reach 260 reviews by my 12th chapter on this story. As of right now, I have 183 :( So please, please, please, please, PLEASE review! I'm not the kind of person who would stop updating because I'm not getting them or anything like that, but I REALLY want them! I am literally on my knees as I type this, begging you to just type a couple words in that box for me! If I could get up to 260 in the next three chapters...That would be...Amazing! I might even work to find someway to say thank you...somehow. Just PLEASE review...Please?**

**Thank you all for reading! **

**lNightWriterl **


	11. Chapter 11

~Chapter 11~

***Present Time***

All was silent when Jenny entered Autopsy. Glass was being swept up by a silent Ziva and McGee was comforting a crying Abby as the two medical examiners conversed quietly in the corner.

What the hell _happened_?

"Director." Ducky greeted when he saw her enter.

"Am I missing something?" she asked blankly as Abby wiped away swabs of black mascara from her face.

"Is…Is…Tony here?" she choked out and Jenny blinked, wondering if this group was a victim of Tony's spontaneous anger as well.

"I sent him home." She told them all "He'll be back tomorrow. What got him so riled up?" she asked, taking a seat next to the distraught forensic scientist.

"It must have been something I said in the story…" Ducky murmured, tapping his upper lip thoughtfully.

"Story?"

"Ah, yes. Well we all had some time off, so we have been reviewing how our older agents met back in Baltimore." Ducky told her "I was just getting to the part where Abby found out about Amelia and-"

"You know about his sister?" Jenny asked startled and everyone turned to her in confusion.

"_You_ did?" a voice asked from behind as Gibbs reentered the room.

"Yes." She said shortly, adding in a little taunt in her voice. Truth was, she only knew after Tony had come to her and accidently made a slip of the tongue, causing her to bully him into telling her. It took a while, but eventually he trusted her enough to keep it a secret.

Her statement brought a new round of silence as everyone squirmed uncomfortably, looking at the door for Tony to come through.

"What happened next Ducky?" Ziva finally spoke quietly, her eyes down. She obviously wished for some sort of normalcy to arrive. The elderly doctor must have sensed this too because he took another sip of his tea thoughtfully before speaking again.

"Well…Um…After the disastrous outcome of Anthony's undercover adventure, Gibbs and the boy weren't on very good terms…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"Give it to me straight Duck." Gibbs said as he pushed another paper towel to his nose to stop the bleeding. The doctor sighed as he shook his head at his friend. The two were sitting alone outside the police station, Gibbs wanting answers as per usual.

"Well Jethro…I'm not going to lie to you, this man is complicated. More so than most I've ever seen. You're talking about a boy who lost his mother at the age of eight, then his sister four years later. He was then disowned by his father more than likely because of his sister's death and sent to military school. This is a man who had taught himself to abandon others before he is abandoned himself and to never show emotion or let somebody in too close. He has been hurt often and strives to make sure it never happens again. This young person is someone who slips behind different masks so that no one can get to close, but when they do manage to get past his defenses, he'll show unwavering loyalty to them. He loves praise, but is uncomfortable with it, preferring to see it rather than hear it from an actual person. This boy feels the need to always be the hero, and is looking for someone to save. He lives off a reality that he has spun to make into some sort of movie, where he feels more comfortable."

"What does all that _mean _Duck?" Gibbs finally asked with a wary sigh.

"It means two things. He is a good friend but bad enemy. It also means that he is in a lot of pain…You just can't see it."

"Is he…Sane?" the agent inquired, because it was, after all, a serious concern.

"Yes." Ducky chuckled "Quite sane. Just a little lost." Gibbs nodded, trying to hold the pieces in place. Alright…He could deal with that.

"Jethro…" Ducky began "I can't help but notice you've held a bit of fascination for Anthony."

"He's a pain in the ass Duck."

"No doubt, but yet he's still here." He said and Gibbs rolled his eyes with a shrug.

"He's got some potential."

"I see…You planning on doing anything with it?" Ducky wheedled and Gibbs frowned at the obvious implication.

"I already have two agents."

"A team usually has four."

"Don't need four."

"Didn't you just say he has potential?" Annoyed, Gibbs ignored his friend, proceeding to wipe his face clean of any remaining blood.

"I did. But I need someone who can take orders Duck. DiNozzo can't- _won't_ do that. He's too reckless."

"That may be something you have to work on with him then." Ducky reasoned and Gibbs gave him an exasperated look.

"He's already told me that he's staying in Baltimore, alright? Besides, I like my face not being smashed into walls." He added darkly as he threw the paper towel away before stalking into the building. The elderly doctor sighed with frustration, but followed.

**(THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LINE BREAK BUT MY COMPUTER REFUSED TO PUT A LINE IN THIS ONE STUPID SPOT. SO, THIS IS A LINE. SORRY MY PC IS A JERK :P)**

"Agent Gibbs."

"Detective DiNozzo."

Alex watched in half amusement and half exasperation at the formal exchange between the two. It was obvious the two were still pissed off at each other, and were trying to prove to the other they didn't care in the slightest.

"How long do you think it's going to last?" Vanessa asked her father in light enjoyment "Them being mad at each other, I mean."

"Don't know. Gibbs is a mean one."

"Have you met your partner?"

"He's only mean to you." Alex lightly teased and Vanessa whacked him lightly before turning to engage in conversation with NCIS' medical examiner.

"Any leads?" Tony asked in a bare attempt to talk to the forlorn agent.

"Not that you need to know about." Gibbs ground back at him "Alex knows them though." He added mockingly and Tony's eyes narrowed in obvious dislike- even hatred.

"I called one of my victims' wives last night." He shot back "I told her we almost had the killer for sure. The only problem was the operation was screwed up."

"Doubt she likes you anymore. Screwing up an operation like that." Gibbs responded loftily and Tony opened his mouth in utter defiance and anger before Alex quickly cut them off.

"So! What do we have about Robert Peace and Markus Payne?" he asked and his partner blinked, jumping back into the case in a heartbeat.

"I don't like Payne Senior." He snarled "but his alibi checks out pretty nicely. As for Peace, while it doesn't _not_ check out, he doesn't have any real confirmation either. So our bird phobic friend is at the top of the suspect list. _However_, John Payne's girlfriend just came back from the Bahamas yesterday, so we should probably interview her."

"Already got her at NCIS' headquarters." Gibbs said nonchalantly and Tony turned, looking slightly outraged.

"_What_? Why didn't you-"

"Alex cleared it for me." Gibbs smiled icily and the older man shot his partner an apologetic look. Tony, simply blinked once more before opting for the silently pissed and stalked over to his desk.

After Alex shot Gibbs a dirty look he walked over, and grabbed the kid by the arm.

"Hey." He said gently, trying to figure out how to best approach the situation. "I'm sorry kid." He muttered, all too aware that the agent's all-knowing eyes were on them.

"Whatever. It's fine." Tony grumbled, shrugging his hand off of him.

"I might have been a little pissed still." Alex pushed slightly further and watched as the boy's eyes became more guarded with wary that shouldn't be there at that age.

"I know I screwed up." He sighed "I'll get him Alex. I swear it."

"I know you will. I never doubted that even after the bar thing."

"Then why were you-?"

"You scared me Tony." Alex admitted, hoping that his words would cause a positive reaction. As usual, they didn't. His face became blank and the only flicker of emotion able to be seen was uncertainty and caution.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly and Alex felt like banging his head against something. Was it really _that_ horrible to accept that fact someone would give a damn that you got hurt? Not for the first time, he wondered about the kid's childhood- or lack thereof.

"I'm going to interview the girl." Gibbs announced, totally ruining the small moment the two were having.

"Take Tony." Alex jerked his head, trying to use it as a peace offering for his junior partner. It was only when he saw the reproachful look on Tony's face, did he remember that Gibbs and him weren't exactly on the best terms, and that Tony himself wouldn't be likely to conduct the interview.

Gibbs said nothing, simply opting to walk out of the room, and have Tony hurry after him, muttering under his breath.

"Daddy…That may have _not_ been one of your best ideas." Vanessa commented wryly as Ducky frowned worriedly as he went after them.

* * *

"And he said AAAAHHHHH! And she said AAAAHHHHH! And they said AHHHH AHHH AHHHH!" Abby screamed along with the music which was at a blistering volume. She was happily skipping around, putting up all her winter decorations. Black snowmen, red snowflakes, and gothic looking Santa Clauses filled the room, along with a screamo version of Christmas music.

Just as she was putting her finishing touches on a very scary looking elf which had vampire teeth, her music was turned down drastically.

"Gibbs!" she gasped, turning around and looking alarmed. "You simply _can't_ turn down my music when I'm decorating! That's…That's…That's just _wrong_!" she admonished and her silver fox chuckled as he handed her a beautifully full Caff-Pow. "Hmm. Though when you bring these lovely little things, it makes it all better." She sighed relishing the first sip. She turned to him, fully intending to ask him how her knew 'mystery detective' was doing when lord behold, the man was right there, regarding her with obvious wary.

"Dr. Scuito." He acknowledged cautiously. She blinked, wondering vaguely why the man was addressing her so formally when she remembered the way she had treated him before.

"Detective." She ventured and gave him another once over. The guy looked so…normal. You would have never guess with just one glance that he had a screwed up childhood. She supposed that was what Gibbs meant when he says that you could never pick out criminal by looks. Like Tony, Abby guess that they would just look like normal people doing normal things.

This was seriously mind blowing. If Brain Matter did a song about this sort of thing…Oh, she would _totally_ buy that album.

"You got anything for me Abs?" Gibbs asked and Abby was pulled out of her own world and back into her lab.

"Well my fearless leader." She smiled "I have some very, _very_ interesting news for you! Guess what I found on John Payne's shirt? Seriously, I want you to guess."

"Blood?" Tony asked wryly and Abby shot him a glare that didn't seem as intense as the ones she had given him last time.

"No. Lipstick." She said and turned back to her computer.

"His girlfriend was out of town." Gibbs finished with slow realization dawning on him and he leaned forward to kiss Abby on the cheek. "Thank you." He told her and left the room.

"Tony?" Abby called when the detective tried to follow. He paused and looked at her with worriedly.

"Yeah?" he asked and the scientist marched up to him, giving him one more look before throwing her arms around him, not missing the way he tensed up at her touch.

"One day." She told him "We're going to be friends. But we can't right now because I still don't like you very much…Don't worry though, one day I will." She said and let him go so she could turn back to her computer, leaving the detective seriously confused.

* * *

"So… I see you and Gibbs are not on the best terms. What happened?"

Tony looked over at the two agents who sat now relaxed on the other side of the interrogation glass with him. Sam was absent mindedly chewing on his thumb as Vivian watched Tony with a small smile on her lips, her eyes searching for the answer to her question.

"A lot." He told her warily "I screwed up, and he screwed up, and now we both want to kill each other." He answered and the two snorted.

"Gibbs doesn't screw up." Vivian told him as Sam nodded in agreement "You must have just pissed him off enough to make him want to mess things up for you." She said and Tony's face flashed with anger.

"All the more reason for me to be pissed." He snapped and focused on Gibbs sitting down across from the girl in the room. She was pretty, Spanish features contrasting sharply with green eyes and bubblegum pink lips. Her dark hair was pinned up aside from one curl that would fall into her face.

"Is…Is it true?" she asked, her voice breaking as Gibbs pulled out some files and gently put them in front of her.

"You're Elena Gonzalez?" he asked and she nodded and let her eyes fall down to her lap.

"He's dead, isn't he? They weren't lying."

"No, they weren't." Gibbs told her, his voice gentle, but not in way that showed any emotions. "We need you to tell us anything you can so we can catch whoever did this." Elena nodded, pain distorting an otherwise beautiful face.

"John called you while you were on vacation. What did he say?"

"He…He told me that he missed me and asked about my trip." She whispered and shook her head "Whenever I asked him how he was, he kept saying he was fine."

"Did he have any enemies?"

"No! John got along with everyone! The only people who didn't like him were his parents really, and they would just get into arguments…Nothing violent."

"Do you know Robert Peace?"

"Robert…? Yeah, he's my friend's brother." She said, her face lighting up with confusion.

"Marie Peace?" Gibbs asked, jumping on the lead.

"Yes. We went to high school together… Why?" she asked and let out a choked gasp "You don't think that-?" she started but seemed unable to finish, dissolving into fresh tears.

"Could he be anymore untactful?" Tony grouched and from beside him, Vivian laughed.

"She's a suspect Tony."

"How? She was in the god damn Bahamas!" he hissed "I don't know why you have her in _interrogation_! That's just plain stupid!" he seethed and Blackladder rolled her eyes.

"Well…We didn't do it like that at the FBI but-"

"FBI? You worked for the FBI?" Tony asked, turning to face her.

"Hm? Oh yeah. I'll be honest, it was a lot better there than here."

"Why'd you switch?" he asked and watched as he face darkened.

"My brother Rex was killed in the USS Cole Bombing. NCIS can help me get the bastards responsible." She told him quietly. Tony turned to reevaluate her, his eyes asking a thousand questions, but didn't comment. Sam on the other hand, didn't have the same discretion.

"Whoa. Your brother is _dead_? I didn't know that!" he said with wide eyes. His partner turned with brown eyes full of fury as she opened her mouth, to more than likely tell him off when Gibbs walked in.

"Come on. We have a lead." He said.

* * *

**Yes! I have come back from the dead! I swear I meant to get this chapter up last sunday, but you know how life is. I had PSATs, essays, AP courses, XC meets, soccer games, regionals, and job problems all dumped on me at once and I'm just like...HOLY CRAP! This is a little much for a scrawny 14 year old! Anyway, here are my little announcement things...**

**1.) Thank you all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo much for reviewing for me! I nearly jumped up and down for an hour when I saw how much I got! Let's keep going guys (: we only need about 36 more lol.**

**2.) Alright, so I haven't seen the latest episode of NCIS yet (10X05), but I did see the one featuring Ducky and it was so FREAKING adorable! Gosh, I just loved that one so much :P I also loved my Palmer in that one too...He's so adorable...**

**3.) So this is just an observation made by yours truly, but what IS it with NCIS and Fathers? It started out with Tony having Daddy issues...Then Ziva...Then Gibbs...Now Tim. What the heck? I think Tony and Ziva's make sense, seeing as WHO their Dads are. I guess since Gibbs and his Dad got it all squared away its good there, but Tim? I thought he was the one with the 'normal' childhood. And why haven't we met his parents yet? Or Palmers for that matter? Or what about Abby's other brother Luca? And why is everybody's mom dead? Tony's is dead...and Ziva...and Gibbs (though I guess he said his Dad was dead too back in season one, so she might be alive)...Both parents for Abby and Ducky are dead. I feel like all the characters backstories share too many qualities...Or am I just overthinking this?**

**4.) That is it my lovely readers! Remember to please, please review! Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

~Chapter 12~

***Ten Years Ago***

When Gibbs first announced he had a lead, Tony had been almost bursting through the roof with excitement. He had a couple ideas of his own after that interview and wondered his Gibbs' theory matched at all with any of his.

Unfortunately for him, instead of _telling_ the three remaining agents what his theory was, Gibbs must have thought that it was a better idea to make them suffer. The man apparently wanted to follow up on his theory with more solid proof. Which was why Tony was Elena Gonzalez's house.

"Are you planning on telling me what exactly we're looking for?" he snapped and from his right, he heard Vivian scoff.

"He's not going to answer." She told him, snapping on a pair of gloves. He gave her an odd look, wondering why the heck she was wearing gloves inside the victim's _girlfriend's_ house.

NCIS people were so strange.

"So…I found a perfume bottle, hair spray, her diary, books, a tissue, a really cool CD and movie collection- Any of these things give you some solid proof Agent Gibbs?" he called back and jumped when he felt a hand close around his wrist.

"Stop." Gibbs told him darkly and Tony threw him an agitated look.

"Talking? Sorry, but it is my coping system for dealing with jack asses." He growled back and jumped when he felt a hard hit on the back of his head. "What the-? What was _that_ for?" he demanded, rubbing his now stinging head.

"Rule two."

"Excuse me?" Tony spat at him and the agent sighed as if he was talking to a dull child.

"Rule number two DiNozzo. Always wear gloves to a crime scene."

"This isn't a crime scene. This is a girl's house." He said gesturing to the well-kept area which was filled with things that really _did not_ pertain to the case.

"And if we find evidence related to the victim's murder it is a crime scene. And if it does turn out to be a crime scene, I don't want your fingerprints all over it!" Tony grimaced, realizing that the Mark Harmon double ganger had a point. Deciding not to let Gibbs get all the satisfaction, Tony made sure to make all his movements of putting on the gloves sarcastic and overdramatic.

"So…NCIS has rules?" he asked with genial curiosity. Did you get fired if you didn't follow them or something?

"Nope. I have rules."

Huh. That strangely made sense. Gibbs _did_ seem like the kind of person that would invent rules and then demand that everyone else live by them. Go figure.

"He has fifty of them." Sam commented when they began to go through Elena's closet, Gibbs having already left the room to search the kitchen with Viv "Nobody has really worked long enough with him to know them all."

"He sounds like Hell to work for."

"Maybe." Sam agreed, looking nervously over his shoulder "but if you could stay him for more than five months, you basically have a job at any team in any agency."

Ok, that was just sad. For you to be _that_ bad to work for that if your employees did manage it for a little while, they had a free card to work anywhere? That was borderline pathetic.

Sighing, Tony got up and moved closer to Elena's dresser, where groups of pictures were spilled over the top. Glossing over the bits of paper, he grabbed a few and started looking through them, trying to see if there was anything important hidden behind the plastered smiles of Elena and her friends.

"Turn the light on." Tony swerved his head around to look at Gibbs who had just reentered the room. He gave a questioning glance, but did as he was told, waiting for the older man to continue with whatever he was trying to say.

"You want the most light possible in the room." Gibbs shrugged and walked over to where Tony was standing. "Especially when looking at pictures, it makes it easier to see prints and anything else that might be on it." To prove his point, he lifted the photo up and sure enough you could see three prints on the picture. "They're three different prints." Gibbs told him, pointing out the large and two smaller looking thumb sizes.

"So?" the detective asked, his eyes trained onto the prints that Gibbs was pointing out. The older agent was briefly reminded of a dog- you could always seem to tell when they're listening or not.

"They're all recent." Gibbs told him and Tony's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"How-?"

"They're not smeared yet. This one is the oldest." Gibbs pointed to the smallest one and Tony scanned it again.

"That one is the most recent." He said, gesturing to the second smallest one and Gibbs nodded in approval, grabbing the next photo in the pile.

"Now" he said shoving it to his chest "You do the rest."

* * *

"We're getting a new team mate Sam." Vivian told her partner from the next room over.

"What do you mean?" the younger man asked, popping his head from over the counter and the redhead sighed.

"Look." She said pointing to the two men over in the next room "Gibbs is actually teaching him stuff. Has he ever done that with any of us?"

"Uhhh…No. He just expects us to know it Viv." the younger agent said as he hit his head sharply on the wall and scowled.

"Exactly. What's so different with this guy?" she asked and Sam shrugged, looking indifferent. He had never really understood his partner's fascination with this kind of stuff anyways. Who cared if their boss found someone he might- sort of- like. Even if it was a bit strange that the guy was practically his polar opposite.

"So, how does him showing him a couple tricks get him a job?" he asked and Vivian rolled her eyes as if it was the most stupid question ever to be created.

"_Obviously_, if Gibbs is showing him crap like that he's going to try to get him to be like…A Gibbs apprentice or something."

"Gibbs apprentice?"

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

"Viv…How much sleep have you gotten since this case?"

"Uh...I'm not for sure actually…Why?"

"Nothing." Sam sighed and rubbed his own tired eyes. One of these days he was going to go to work, and find himself amongst sane people… That would be his first clue that he had died and gone to heaven.

The next hours were filled with painstaking moments of looking through heaps of old laundry, books, garbage, dishes, and some things that Sam would have rather _not_ known were in Elena Gonzalez's house. The search for the mystery object seemed like it would never end, and it didn't help that every time Gibbs would swoop by, he would wince at his boss's presence. Nor did it help that Viv would continually compare everything they did to the FBI. After what seemed like decades though, some deity decided to have mercy on them.

"Let's go." Gibbs called, walking back into the room with a pleased looking Tony. "We found it."

"Found _what_ exactly?" Blackladder asked, putting her hands on her hips. Sam peered over and waited expectantly as well, but before Gibbs could answer, Tony spoke up.

"Proof on who our killer is."

***Present Time***

"Well?" Palmer asked impatiently. "Who is it?" Jenny shook her head in confusion. She hadn't gotten all the details of the case to make much of a guess, but instead looked over and Ziva and Tim, in hope that it would click for them.

"Is it…Oh…Oh!" Ziva snapped her fingers "Is it-?"

"Shhh!" Abby cried "Don't ruin it!"

"No fair! I still don't know!" McGee frowned "It couldn't have been his Dad, but I guess-"

"Think naughty McGee."

"What?" the younger man asked, looking alarmed at the implication and Ziva sighed.

"Oh McGee…One day I'm going to sit down and explain all of this to you."

"Explain _what_?" the junior agent cried in exasperation and Abby began to coo adoringly at him.

"So cute! I wish Tony had been like this, it could have-" she paused in her speech, looking over to where her best friend should have been sitting and her face instantly fell. From across the room, Palmer too was frowning at his friend's empty seat, debating on whether or not he should call to check on the AWOL agent.

"Anthony should probably be left alone Mr. Palmer." Ducky murmured gently to him, guessing his thoughts.

"It feels wrong. Talking about him like this, and him not being here." Jimmy admitted and gave a look of confusion when the older doctor laughed.

"My dear boy, I think Anthony will be fine. I have a hunch that he is not quite so lonely anymore."

* * *

He loved her.

There wasn't a cell in his body, a doubt in his mind that didn't deny it. He absolutely, irrevocably, undeniably, loved this woman with every last piece of his soul that he had left.

It wasn't just that she was beautiful. Or smart. Or funny. It wasn't that she an honest person (something that made their whole relationship ironic) or that she was a complete quintessence.

It was just because she was so…so…_her_. Jeanne was just one of those people that life literally radiates around just because it can. She was so opened and witty, knowing yet with some kind of strange innocence Tony didn't quite understand.

Jeez, if only his poetry teacher could hear him now. He would have definitely aced that project if he had met Jeanne in high school.

"Am I really that boring?" his mind was focused again as he felt a shift in his arms and he realized that his girlfriend had been talking.

"Nah," he grinned at her "I was just thinking about you." Her eyes instantly softened, which Tony had always found kind of weird. They were a vivid blue which was actually the same shade as Gibbs' at times. The difference was while Gibbs' were icy and literally chilled you to look at, Jeanne's were…Warm. Sometimes speculating, knowing, and completely pissed off, but they always held that understanding in them which just seemed odd with that color.

"Hmm…" she told him as she leaned further into him. "How was work?" he winced slightly, not yet ready to show her his bandaged hands. He had been lucky she hadn't noticed yet; she always had a third sense for someone who was injured.

"Long." He sighed "I wish I could just stay with you all day."

"Tim giving you trouble again?" she asked and Tony let a light smile fall on his lips. In a way, Jeanne knew all about his co-workers…Just a little differently. Ducky was the teacher down the hall who taught Medicine and was known to be a great lecturer. His loyal TA, Jimmy was always by his side. Abby, was the forensics professor who was Goth, crazy, and totally just Abby. Ziva and Tim were two students in his class that constantly gave him a hard time, while Gibbs was an older retired and then unretired supervisor of them all. Jenny of course, was the dean of the school and one of Tony's staunchest allies against them all.

"No. He was actually pretty good today, I can already tell that tomorrow is going to be awful though." He laughed "Gibbs was the real problem." He groaned and Jeanne shifted again so she could look at him.

"Maybe you should talk to Jenny about it…Tony I know you like that man a lot, but he seems like…I don't know. Almost abusive towards you." She frowned and Tony bit his tongue. Lately, Jeanne had pushing for them to be more open with each other- something rather hard when you are lying about your own last name. Not to mention Tony wasn't exactly an…open person. That fact alone seemed to make Jeanne more determined to get him to talk about every problem he's ever had.

"You might be right." He murmured, surprisingly himself. The thing was…she _was_ right. After the two had their blow out…

Stop. He wasn't being fair. The man had lost his memory for god's sake. He should give him a bit of a break.

However, on the opposite side of it all, some of the problems he was having with his mentor weren't due to his lack of memory at all. In fact, some of it was there even before.

They were small then though, barely even noticeable. Enough so that _he_ didn't notice at least. Even then though it had never reached the level it had now…

Light teasing had become ruthless, belittling comments. Constructive criticism became full out goads of his abilities and what used to be light headslaps became almost frustrated and painful blows at his head- It was a wonder he hadn't gotten a concussion yet. Tony supposed he should have seen it all coming. He had learned at a young age to never put your faith or trust in one person too much.

His mother? Dead. His sister? Dead. His father? Abandoned him. Kate? Dead. And then there was poor Alex and his daughters…Now Gibbs. Who was next?

Yeah. It was so much better to keep your distance, stay far away and keep emotions tucked away where they could never be awakened. It was part of the reason why Tony never stayed at a police department for too long.

Maybe it _was_ time to move on. He had outstayed his welcome so to say. Fornell had opened him a job hadn't he? Then there was the other letter agencies offering as well as other police departments. He could maybe join Metro…Or Secret Service offered him a supervisory spot…Or wait…Wasn't that CSI? Ugh, he wasn't for sure anymore. The point was he had options if he left. Options of a better career with people who would respect him at the very least. Making new friends had never been hard anyway.

Then why _couldn't_ he? The very thought was driving him up the wall.

Why couldn't he just leave those people behind? They were going to leave him if he didn't hurry up soon.

Tony was well aware that his mind was in a false reality of thinking that the old times would forever stay the old times. That he'll wake up every day and enjoy life exactly how it is without change.

That was just the thing though? Things _always_ changed. One day he was going to wake up and find that he didn't have the option on staying the same though. Maybe it would be that he gotten too old to work, or Gibbs died, or _something_. Either way, part of him was rationalizing he had to get change before it got him.

Which circled back to the original question of why it was so fucking _hard?_

This wasn't even the first time the thought had come into his mind, he just had other reasons for staying before. Now? He didn't have the slightest clue what was holding him back.

"Jeanne?" he whispered into the darkness and he looked at her for a moment.

"Hmm?" she acknowledged quietly back and he let his head fall on top of hers.

"I love you." He told her quietly because honestly? That was the only thing he was sure of.

* * *

**THIS IS IT EVERYBODY! MY GOAL CHAPTER! I need 260 reviews before I post my next chapter which will be hopefully, about week from now. Please, please, PLEASE review! Moving on...**

**Not too much actually to be said today. I might be a little slow on updates after this next one because I have regionals for XC coming up (: So freaking excited! I'm going to a far away place for a couple days to compete...should be fun :P**

**Hope you guys liked this chapter...I was thinking about it the other day, and most Baltimore stories had Tony being an amazing cop already (which he is), but the only thing was I felt he needed to tone it down to enable Gibbs to slide into that mentor figure for him, and be able to learn from him. So I played with that thought a little... Also, I had a little Jeanne/Tony here. Was I the only one who adored them being together? I liked that pairing a lot actually, and was sad when it ended...**

**Anyways, that's it everyone! I hope you liked it (: Remember to review *fingers crossed***

**lNightWriterl**


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh God guys...It has been...FOREVER since I've updated and you have NO IDEA how sorry I am for that! Trust me when I say, I have a hell load of excuses for not getting on. And trust me when I say, you really don't want to hear them. Life has recently decided it must be a bitch to me and cause lots and lots of problems. So here I am in a bit of an...awkward situation. And a tragic one. And a funny one. Ugh, I'm a bit sleep deprived so you might have no idea what I'm saying...D: Point is I'm sorry and here is the chapter!**

* * *

~Chapter 13~

*Present Time*

The next day came in an almost blur for the NCIS workers. Gibbs was almost displeased to hear they didn't have a case yet _again_ today, and was seriously suspicious that a certain redhead had something to do with that small fact. It would certainly explain why _other _teams were coming up to him, complaining about the amount of work they had to do when his own team hadn't had to lift a finger in days.

He wasn't one to complain though; the fact of the matter was this 'story telling' was kind of good for them…In a way. Sort of. Gibbs was still unsure what to think about it to be honest. It was good for getting his memories back on certain things, such as a green eyed field agent. It _wasn't_ good for maintaining a good relationship with said agent. Sometimes a situation is just a lose-lose kind of thing.

"We need to talk." Gibbs growled, putting his mouth right next to the director's ear. The rest of the group (minus Tony) were filing in autopsy and already giving their two superiors exasperated looks when they saw how Gibbs and Jenny were looking at each other. The redhead gave a brief turn to look at him, but didn't respond right away. Her eyes zeroed in on his, no doubt knowing that this 'talk' was going to be about.

Wordlessly, she stood up allowing her agent to follow her as she left the room, prying eyes watching her back. Once they exited autopsy, she made her way further down a deserted hallway before stopping sharply and turning to look at her once-partner.

"What do you want Jethro?" she asked, her voice falling flat with narrowed eyes. It was clear she was willing to fight for this- no matter what the cost.

"To know what you've done with my agent."

"_My_ agent." She hissed possessively and took a step towards him, one that Gibbs didn't back away from.

"He was _my_ agent from the beginning. Ever since I became director. He was _my_ agent when you left, and he's _my_ agent now. You want to know what else? He's even _more_ my agent now because I'm the only person he trusts." With each word, she had made harder up until the point her voice was so calloused not even a chainsaw could have dented it.

"What the hell are you doing with him?" Gibbs growled back lowly, his own tone mirroring Jenny's.

"That is none of your business. And before you say it, I'm not _just_ using Tony. I care about him."

"Funny way of showing it."

"This coming from _you_ of all people." She snarled back and without warning Gibbs whirled around and hit the wall with an open palm.

"This isn't _about_ me!" he shouted "This is about the agent whose life you're putting at risk!"

"How? Do you know anything about what I'm doing? No! So how do _you_ know the risks!" Jenny shouted, her voice slowly rising to match his level of volume. "You want to know something Jethro? You have a lot of guts for this! You have _no right_ to be concerned for him. At all! You lost that right the moment you gave him the 'you'll do' and left him standing there without anything to hold on! You lost that when you came back and hurt him _again_ and _again_ and _again_! You want to know a secret? You're no better than me and you're not even better than his father!" by this point, her voice had risen to a scream and Gibbs had fallen silent, impassive eyes watching with utter disgust.

Heated silence filled the air in which the two stared icily at one another before Gibbs spoke again, his tone oddly controlled.

"You're wrong." He practically whispered and Jenny's face broke into a cruel sneer as she pressed up against him.

"Prove it." She snarled and for the second time, left him standing alone with nothing but her words whirling around in his head.

* * *

"Anthony!" Ducky called as Tony walked quietly into the room "You're back! Did you have a nice day off?" he asked and Tony blinked at the knowing look he had in his eyes.

The doctor knew more than Gibbs at times, he swore.

"Yeah Ducky, it was pretty good." He said, trying to ignore the awkward looks he was getting from the rest of his team. Wordlessly, he positioned himself next to Abby who latched onto him without hesitation.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her quietly and Abby gave a muffled answer in acceptance.

"What did you go do last night anyways?" Ziva asked, looking at his face which was significantly happier looking than it was the day before.

"Just had a couple of drinks." He answered automatically; a bit too quickly for the Mossad agent's liking. The rest seemed to accept this answer and continued their conversations before Jenny stormed in, throwing herself back into her seat.

"Director?" Tony asked in confusion and she jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Tony! There you are." She said and her eyes fell onto Gibbs who was walking through the door. The older agent seemed to assess the scene quietly before pointedly falling into the empty chair next to his SFA, giving Jenny a pointed look as he did so.

"Um…" Tony started, but Ducky quickly cut him off.

"So we're at the point where Jethro and Anthony found evidence yes? Good. This is one of my favorite parts."

"Mine too!" Abby smiled.

"Yes, yes. It is when Abigail and Anthony first officially became friends. In a rather dramatic way I might add."

"Is this when you beat up that one guy?" Jimmy asked and Tony nodded.

"and also when I jumped the other guy for the Caff-Pow." He told them all and Abby kissed Tony's cheek.

"My hero!" she fussed affectionately.

"Anyways!" Ducky huffed to get the attention back on him. "It all started when Agent Sam Gavotte went down to the lab…"

* * *

*Ten Years Ago*

"Hey! Dr. Scuito?" Sam called out cautiously. Abby had always been one to scare the young agent due to the fact she was just…Scary. Never the less, he had volunteered to get her, due to the fact DiNozzo and Gibbs were at it again. Arguing over the case. Again.

It seemed that Tony wanted to apprehend the suspect right away, but Gibbs on the other hand told him that, that was just plain stupid and that if they got the person right now, there was a good chance they would get away.

Needless to say, when Vivian told him to go get Abby after a stapler went flying, he didn't argue.

"Doctor?" he called out again and let out a very undignified squeak when a computer mouse was aimed at his head.

"GO AWAY!" a voice screamed and Sam felt his eyes widened in complete fear.

"A-A-Abby? What's wrong?" he choked out.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" without a second thought, the man fled, running flat out into Dr. Mallard who was walking towards the lab with a look of pure agitation.

"Agent Gavotte? If you do excuse me, I must get these samples up to Abigail. I do believe that-"

"Don't go in there! She's rabid!" Sam cried and watched as the elderly doctor blinked slowly at the panicked tone.

"Samuel." He explored carefully "Did you just say our forensic analyst has gone _rabid_?" he asked and Sam nodded faintly. Ducky raised an eyebrow and slowly peered in through the door.

"Abby?" he called in and there was a pitiful groan.

"Go away!"

"What is wrong my dear?"

"I need Gibbs."

"Why?"

"I NEED HIM!" and Sam jumped, and looked at the Doctor who was frowning.

"I'm going to go get Gibbs." He squeaked out and ran to the elevator, slumping with relief once it was shut. However, he quickly regretted this when the doors reopened.

"SCOTTS!" wincing at the name his boss seemed to think was his, he looked tentatively over at the bullpen where Vivian was glaring at the two men.

"Boss?" he croaked.

"Shoot him." He said giving his partner a dirty look before refocusing his glare to Tony.

"Gibbs." Vivian sighed, but he ignored her and turned to Sam again.

"Where's Abby?" he hissed and the agent scrambled back.

"She wants to see you." He yelped and felt himself be shoved out of the way as the older man went into the elevator.

"You ok Sam? You look a little pale." Viv asked as she walked towards him. Tony followed her, his face red and anger was still hinted in his eyes from the previous argument.

"Abby…She…She's lost it." Sam spluttered out, trying to convey the urgency of the situation with his hands.

"Why does she want Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"Gibbs is really the only one who can control her." Vivian explained "and the only one who can calm her down."

"Gibbs can…_Calm_ people?" the detective asked, his face showing his utter disbelief for the statement.

"Weird isn't it? Then again, so is Abby."

"Huh…That's true." Tony considered and at that moment the doors of the elevator reopened.

"Is there any Caff-Pows over here?" Doctor Mallard asked solemnly, his face holding the utter most seriousness. The looks on the three remaining faces were nothing short of shocked at the question.

"Any…I'm sorry this whole melt down is about _what_?" Tony asked, being the first to pull himself together enough to speak.

"The machine is empty." Ducky sighed forlornly "and I'm afraid that she hasn't had one is about a day or so- It is not so unlike taking away a cigarette from a heavy smoker who's had a long day."

"A Caff-Pow though? Really?"

"Be careful who you say that around Anthony. If she heard you than your life might have a quicker end than you anticipated."

"She seems a little bit busy to be listening to me." Tony countered and glanced around the hallway. Sam and Vivian's surprise seemed to have worn away, leaving them in identical looks of wariness along with slight agitation.

"So…How do we get a Caff-Pow?" he continued in hope that some God decided to jump out and offer the holy drink on a platter.

"I don't know." Sam shrugged "Abby just always seems to have one. If not her than Gibbs always has one to give to her."

"But Ducky said the machine was empty. Where else can we get one?"

"Do I look like Abby to you? How am I supposed to know! It isn't exactly something you see when you go to the grocery store." Viv snapped back, brushing flying pieces of red hair from her eyes. After tapping the counter with his fingers for a few more moments, Tony started down the hallway again, looking for someone or something to help calm a very scary gothic girl.

* * *

Daniel Chang was in complete relief. It had taken him exactly three bus rides, four sprints around the block, two angry old ladies, forty-six dollars (for the item, bus ride, and to calm said angry ladies), and peanut butter sandwich (don't ask), but he finally got it.

A Caff-Pow.

It was a little known fact of NCIS that most of its employees ran on caffeine and caffeine only. Coffee, tea, and the wondrous Caff-Pow were among some of the needed fuels to keep the agency going.

Which was why Daniel had taken the three bus rides, four sprints, two angry ladies, forty-six dollars, and peanut butter sandwich graciously. Because as a cyber-technician who had been working overtime for the past month…He kind of needed something to keep him going and coffee wasn't going to cut if no more. He needed to recalibrate the computers, look at histories, program facial transmitting system, and God knows what else.

Which all led Daniel to his current location. Walking into NCIS' building with the Caff-Pow in hand, taking small sips as he went. Maybe if he was lucky, his boss might actually let him go home tonight. In the midst of that wonderful daydream, Daniel didn't even notice when a man froze in mid-step and turned to him slowly.

"What's _that_?"

Daniel turned and looked to see a man in maybe middle or late twenties, staring at him with intense green eyes- or rather staring at the cup in his hand.

"Uh…Caff-Pow?" he offered, taking a small step back. He may not deal with any criminals directly, but he was pretty sure that the look on the guy's face would be the same look a killer might give his next victim.

"Where the Hell did you get it?" the man asked, taking a shuffle towards him and Daniel blinked at the almost desperate look the man gave as he stared at the seemingly harmless drink.

"Hyattsville." He said uncomfortably and almost saw the man groan. The city name was about two hours away.

"Listen. We're having a crisis down stairs because of one of those things- Do you mind if-?"

"No." Daniel snapped, finally getting where this was going. Oh _Hell_ no. He did not just go and get beat up by two old ladies for nothing.

"Come on man! I told you it was a crisis! Someone might lose an eye soon."

"I'm sorry." He responded tersely and walked away feeling quite proud that he had stood up to the rather intimidating looking man. Ha! And his mom said he was too quiet!

That was until the man stepped right back in front of him.

"Ok. We can do this either the easy or the hard way. You choose."

Well _shit_.

* * *

Gibbs needed to work Abby on the whole caffeine thing.

Was this normal to be so dependent on it?

Of course one could also argue that Gibbs himself practically ran on caffeine only… But he was never like _this_ when he didn't have it right? Uh…Right?

From the corner of his eye Gibbs could make out his two agents peering into the door, whispering in hushed tones of the different things they ought to do. A few feet from them, the silhouette of his older friend kept moving in what looked like a talking manner (which wasn't all that surprising). Ugh, he swore to the love of God he would thank even DiNozzo if he came in with that damn drink in hand. Hell, he would evenhug the guy at this point.

"Don't go in there!"

"Tony! At least arm yourself!"

"What? What are you guys talking about?" Well speak of the devil.

"Abby. She still hasn't-" There was another long pause and Gibbs heard a gasp of shock. Knowing that this may mean the end of their suffering, the older man quickly revoked his mental promise to thank and hug DiNozzo if he got the drink. Heck, he wasn't _that_ desperate.

"How'd you get that?"

"Uh…You really don't want to know. You guys know a guy named Daniel Chang?"

"Who?"

"Okay, good." DiNozzo spoke and walked into the room. There was some slight hesitations between footsteps and Gibbs knew that the detective still must be uneasy around their gregarious forensic scientist. Could he really blame him?

"Abby?" he asked and Gibbs glanced up to meet the younger man's eyes. "I uh…I got you a Ca-" Not even waiting for him to finish the word, Abby snatched the drink out of his hand and began sucking on it like a desert man would water. After several moments of sitting there watching her slurp the drink down, she quickly bounced back up, throwing her arms around Tony.

"Thank you!" she literally squealed and kissed his cheek so that a large print of black lipstick was smeared on. "You got it for me." Abby beamed and Tony gave a faint nod.

"Uh…I…" he said, sounding more flustered that Gibbs had even seen him.

"Awwww! Gibbs can we keep him? I think he's kind of cute now!" Obviously confused by the very sudden change in attitude towards him, the detective blinked and gave a pleading look at the others in the room to detach him from the Goth.

Well tough. He was going to have to deal with it.

Slowly removing Abby's limbs from his torso, Tony gave a wary look at Gibbs.

"Maybe you're right. We should wait to get the dirt bag." he said and the agent snorted. He knew he would have proved his point eventually...He just didn't think it would take a caffeine deprived Goth to do it.

Hm...If Gibbs wasn't so against having a criminal anywhere near Abby he would let her conduct an interrogation.

_That_ would certaintly be interesting, Gibbs thought as he watched her drag the detective out the door.

* * *

**That's it... To be honest? I really hated this chapter. Despite the amount of time I've been gone...I haven't really written anything but maybe a one-shot or two. Writers' block combined with crap sucks.**

**Anyway! That is it I'm too exhausted to even think much more so yeah. I am going to my nice, warm, comfy, big, fluffy bed...Holy crap that sounds nice right now...**

**OH! Before I forget...We made our goal (: Yay! I'll celebrate more next A/N though...My head is getting kind of fuzzy so I need to get off now...Yeah...Bye...Love ya :P**


	14. Chapter 14

~Chapter 14~

***Ten Years Ago***

Gibbs would never eat Italian again. Ever. Period.

Not after the surreal experience he went through. Never after _that_.

The moment Abby's melt down had subsided, the group all went out to eat, mostly to kill time before cornering their killer. Gibbs hated waiting, but he wasn't about to let stupidity and impatience get in the way of closing a case.

Due to Tony's triumph in getting the Caff-Pow, he was allowed to pick the restaurant.

A horrible decision really. Since the detective had never been in DC before, he spent at least twenty minutes going through catalogues before finally settling on an Italian restaurant about five minutes away.

"Hey Tony? You know what? I'm going to take you bowling." Abby announced as they all squished themselves in the car. Ducky, Gerald, Vivian, and Sam were all riding separately and since Gibbs had dragged DiNozzo here...

"Bowling?" Tony asked cautiously. He seemed to be tip toeing around the happy Goth, as if he thought her abrupt change in heart towards him would vanish within seconds if he so much as blinked wrong.

"Yes bowling silly. I'm on a team you know."

"Cool."

"Yeah it is. I'm not the captain…_Yet_. But I will be. Sister Ann says I have a lot of potential."

"Sister Ann?"

"Uh huh. She's a nun. All my team mates are."

"You bowl…With nuns?" Tony repeated slowly, as if trying to figure out if Abby really said those words or not. Gibbs glanced back through his rear view mirror, catching wind of Tony's stunned expression.

"Yeah." Abby replied in her 'duh' voice "We make a pretty rocking team. Though the sisters don't have very good taste in music…Not for sure why because you know, we're a lot alike. We all like cats, puppies, peanut butter sandwiches, surprise parties- So I don't get how they don't like metal songs about death. Can you believe it? I've been trying to get them to see it for _years_ but Sister Rosita just tells me that it isn't their style…They like the high pitch stuff apparently. Which is pretty I guess, but it doesn't have the same ZANG to it, you know?" Abby looked over at the detective who gave a nod and the Goth looked approvingly at him. "See, _you_ understand." She told him, sounding relieved "I'm glad I have _someone_ here I can relate to!"

Gibbs resisted the sudden urge to laugh at Tony's face- his eyes now resembling plates and mouth almost gaping open in pure shock and confusion. Abby didn't seem to notice as she chattered on for the rest of the car ride, explaining to Tony more about her hobbies and life which would jump from wild parties one second to helping out at an orphanage the next. His forensic analysis was really one of a kind.

"You coming DiNozzo?" he asked as soon as the car was parked. Abby had already jumped out, moving towards the door with an expectant tap of her foot. Tony on the other hand, seemed to be still recovering from having his ears talked off- obviously he was used to _him_ being the talker.

"Uh…Yeah." He blinked, rubbing his eyes before popping out of the car, a new grin on his face. "Just wait until you try this place Gibbs! It's _amazing_!"

"Thought you said you never been here before?" Gibbs yawned, following Abby into the restaurant. It seemed typical enough, tables set strategically apart with Italian decorations flowing around the counters and ceiling.

"It's Italian." The younger man explained, as if that made any sense. Gibbs decided to let the matter drop.

Apparently feeling more comfortable in restaurant, Tony's voice now regained its use, talking over a million miles an hour as they were seated by their host, who Tony complained should have a been a girl, because it is much better manners to be greeted by a woman rather than a man.

Eventually, after about ten minutes, Abby and Tony seemed to have an unspoken contest on who could speak louder and faster than the other, which quickly escalated into one trying to talk over the other.

For possibly the first time ever, Gibbs was thankful when the rest of the team showed up.

"Hey guys!" Abby chirped, taking a sip of her mountain dew as the group piled in.

"Hey." Viv smiled and glanced over at the detective "She's practically back to normal." She told them quietly "Tony, how did you get that drink again?"

"Uh…Well…I asked the guy for it and he wouldn't give it to me." Tony explained uncomfortably "So I kind of grabbed his arm and pinned him against the wall and told him he _had_ to give it to me…But he didn't. He must have really wanted it for some reason."

"Well, yeah DiNozzo, that was his drink." Gibbs snorted and the younger man threw him a look before going on.

"So then I kicked his legs, and he fell to the floor and I kind of pried the cup from his hands. Then he started crying and I felt really bad so I gave him ten bucks and left."

"You made him _cry_?" Vivian asked, looking somewhat appalled.

"I would have too." Muttered Sam, shaking his head as he watched Abby bounce around, her eyes focused on the menu happily.

"Could you not have found another way to get the poor lad to give the drink?" Ducky asked with a frown "Though, I dare say it was kind of you to give him the money."

"How much does a Caff-Pow cost anyway?" Gerald asked, whose large frame was awkwardly positioned between his mentor and Sam. Every head turned to both Gibbs and Abby, neither which answered. In Abby's case it was because of her complete attention on the menu, whereas Gibbs was just a bastard.

"Here you go darling!" the older agent glanced up to find a pretty waitress walking towards them, handing Tony a tray of food. The man licked his lips and smiled up at the girl as she put his drink next to the steaming plate.

"Thanks!" he told her with a small wink and she giggled, twirling her hair slightly as she looked down at him.

"Oh, did you guys already order?" Gerald frowned and Abby blinked, shaking her head in confusion.

"How did you already get your food Tony?" she asked and the waitress broke in, still looking at her customer.

"He's Italian." She replied.

"So?" Viv cut in "I thought you said you never been here before?"

"I haven't." Tony agreed "I'm Italian. This is an Italian restaurant."

"Do you two know each other?"

"No, but I'm _sure_ we can." The girl giggled and Tony nodded, his mouth already full of food.

"This is pretty good." He praised "Thanks, I'll be sure you get a nice tip." The waitress smiled again, placing a hand lightly on his back before walking away, obviously forgetting about taking the rest of the group's order.

"I call not paying." Tony said as he put a forkful of food in his mouth.

* * *

The food (when they finally got it) ended up being pretty good. Gibbs still wasn't for sure what was going on with DiNozzo and the waitress- they both claimed to not know each other before today, yet somehow Tony kept getting things without even being asked. After he received his dessert, Gibbs quit trying to figure it out. Some things were better left alone. Besides, if he ever really wanted to know, he would find a way, he always did.

"Anthony, where is dear Alexander anyway?" Ducky asked as he took a bite out of a very strange dish he was eating…What did he call it? _Pesceimburratoe Hazel_?

"He went to go get all the legal stuff ready for the arrest." Tony said "And Rachel came by, so he went to see her too."

"Rachel?"

"His daughter. She's getting married next month and wants to meet up with him and Vanessa this weekend to go over wedding details or something like that." Despite the very nonchalant way this was said, Gibbs couldn't help but notice the almost, disgust, at the way he said wedding, as if it was a filthy term.

"You don't like weddings or something?" he asked lightly as the others shifted their attention back to another conversation. DiNozzo blinked, giving him a startled look as he began messing around with a half-eaten plate of food.

"Do you? I wouldn't think so, seeing as you've been married four times. Though I guess you _could_ like them, which is why you keep having them."

It was a good deflection. But Gibbs wasn't sidetracked very easily. Maybe that crap worked on other people, but the kid was going to have to honest with him whether he liked it or not.

"Wasn't what I asked." He said calmly and Tony squirmed slightly, looking distinctly uncomfortable about his technique not working. Quickly, he gathered another charming smile and answered lightly.

"I'm indifferent. Hey, what would you rate that girl over there? Because I'm thinking an eight, but she could be a nine you know?"

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing she's wearing a lot of make-up so that takes at least one point off. Thought I guess-"

"Why don't you like weddings?" Gibbs clarified. Normally, he would have let it drop already. It wasn't his concern anyway. But part of him wanted the kid to know that Gibbs was going to get the answer he wanted, even if it took all night. The other half, strangely enough, wanted to know why he had an adversary with something that should be a happy occasion.

After making a distinct noise of disgust, Tony seemed to accept the fact he was going to have to come up with a reasonable answer.

"Look, after my mom died my Dad got married a bunch alright? After the first three it got kind of old." Gibbs nodded thoughtfully and frowned at his now empty glass of coffee. Reaching over, he took DiNozzo's and gulped a sip of his.

"Can you please stop doing that?" Tony grouched "Yours will be refilled in like what? Five minutes." Placing the now empty cup on table, Gibbs smiled.

"Now so will yours."

* * *

How did he do it?

It was something Tony really wanted an answer to as he ate, his eyes full of wonder at the man who had completely waltz through Tony's deflection, humor, and lies like he did it every day of his life.

It was…Amazing! How on earth could he possibly just…Know? Gibbs would have to teach him that someday.

Wait…What? No, that was all wrong. Tony would never see the man after today. It would be over. Done. Perhaps they would catch a glimpse of each other at the killer's trial but…Nothing after that. There wasn't going to _be_ a someday. What was he thinking?

Besides, people like Leroy Jethro Gibbs were dangerous. Tony was the son of an actress after all. He knew how to pretend, how to act. He had learned from an early age that people who know what you're thinking are a threat to you. This agent was like that. Bright red flag in Tony's book. 'CAUTION: STAY AWAY. THIS PERSON WILL BRING PAIN AND SUFFERING TO YOUR LIFE'.

However, part of him wondered if it was worth the risk. The guy knew a lot about crime fighting. Tony could learn a few things…No, no, no! First off, he was already having trouble with his decision to stay in Baltimore. He _couldn't_ just go dancing off into another job. A _federal_ job for that matter! Not to mention what would happen if he really did get too close to Gibbs? Assuming that the man would even work with him?

No. He couldn't- he _wouldn't_ do it. No way. He had family here right? Alex and Scarlett lived here. Not to mention Rachel and Vanessa. Hell, he was supposed to go to Rachel's wedding next month! He was perfectly happy here…

The strange thing was, despite the fact it was true, Tony couldn't help but get that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. The one that made him feel all tingly inside. It was as if something was _telling_ him something was up. Ugh, what did his stomach of all things know anyway? The only thing it was good for was storing delicious Italian dishes. Hmm…Maybe he should get a pizza to go…

"Here you go Tony!"

"Thanks Gina." Tony winked at the waitress as she handed him the box of steaming pizza. From the corner of the man's eye he saw the others look at him with a mixture of awe and pure exasperation. After Tony received all his food without so much as even picking up the menu- they stopped asking how Gina knew what he wanted.

Maybe one day (not that they would ever see each other again…Because he was staying in Baltimore…Because he didn't want to leave…) he would tell them.

"Where's Abby?" Tony looked over to see his new friend's (a strange as that sounds) seat empty. Sam was frowning; none of them seemed to have noticed her slip away.

"Bathroom." Gibbs spoke up…Well, everyone except Gibbs. But Tony was beginning to think he somehow had an unfair advantage over the rest of them. Maybe he wasn't even human…A psychic? Vampire? Mind reader? He would have to ask Vivian and Abby later. They seemed like they would know.

"She's taking forever." Gerald grumbled under his breath and Ducky hit him with a vehement force.

"Hush, Abigail can take as long as she wants." He sniffed and Tony smiled lightly. Everyone seemed to stick up for Abby- which was kind of ironic because she seemed more than capable to taking care of herself…He supposed that despite the Goth clothes, she still portrayed that strong sense of innocence. Bit of an oxymoron he supposed.

"Ow!" Sam yelped and this time, the detective sniggered as the pea he had flicked at the agent landed right on his eye. "What was that for?"

"I'm bored." Tony explained and Sam's eyes narrowed.

It. Was. On.

* * *

Abby could hear the food fight starting from almost a mile away (though she was only a couple yards away from the group). Sam and Tony had apparently started a war of throwing food at each other, Viv and Gerald quick to join soon afterwards.

She would admit, Abby was impressed with how Anthony DiNozzo dealt with people. Especially if he could get Sam Gavotte- the timid, introverted, shy agent to get into a food fight. Laughing quietly to herself as she heard Gibbs and Ducky attempt to quiet the ruckus, she quickened her stride hoping to join in the action before the two 'adults' stopped the fun.

"Excuse me ma'am?" Turning the Goth found herself face to face with the man from the table over. He had been watching her throughout the meal, but Abby hadn't thought much of it. People watched her often. Whether from her actions, interesting choice of apparel, or just because she was pretty.

"Hi." She beamed at him, only feeling slightly uncomfortable at the step he took towards her.

"Do you think you can help me with something?" he asked, and this time Abby did take a step back when he came closer to her.

"Uh...I don't know. I guess it depends what it is because they're waiting for me back there…" she told him, her voice trailing off. Part of her wanted to help this guy- whoever he was. His eyes held a desperate look in them and his hands were trembling. The other half of her was screaming bloody murder to run.

"Just…Just don't move." He told her and his hands began to latch on her arms.

"Let me go." She said calmly, looking him dead in the eye. She may not have a gun, but hell if she didn't have weapons. Those spikes on her wrists weren't just for looks.

"Don't. Move."

"LET ME GO!" she yelled and the next few seconds went by in a blur. The man slammed her against the wall, making a move to push her out the door at the same moment she struck, clawing black nails at his face. Then somewhere within the time they struggled, another body came into the mixture, pulling the man off of her. Her breathing instantly became easier as the man suddenly lashed out away from her, turning upon her rescuer.

It was Tony.

Huh. She knew there was a reason she liked this guy. It wasn't his hair after all.

From the corner of her eyes, Abby saw the rest of the team jumping up and sprinting to help out the detective, but Tony seemed to have it under control as he lashed out, pinning the man to a table in a few fluid moments.

Cursing in multiple languages, Tony cuffed the guy, wiping blood from his cheek.

"Come on Dude." He complained "I've got NCIS people already beating up on me. Why'd you have to join them?"

The reply was a series of threats, insults, and curses, all rolled into one. The guy was creative, she'd give him that. However, his words were instantly quieted the moment Gibbs came along whispering something into his ear.

Aw… That was her silver fox. Always leaving that one of a kind impression.

"So…" she said and everyone turned to her, Ducky and Gerald's eyes full of concern, Viv and Sam's shocked, Gibbs's lethal, and Tony all of the above. "Did I really miss the food fight?"

* * *

**Hmm... This one seemed better than the last one right? My writer's block is a bit better, but I wouldn't say I was all the way better. Things are still kind of crazy over here! Don't worry though, I would never forget about you guys (;**

**Anyways, I looooovvvvveeeedddddd Shell Shocked. So freakin adorable with Tony lol. I never really pictured him looking like that as a teen...Weird because he supposedly lost his virginity when he was 14...Smh. The part about his mom was sweet, though really sad. I wish they would tell us how she died already! Ten seasons and we still don't know! All I got was that it was after the movies and she ended up in the hospital...Hmm...Car accident? Shooting? Heck, poisoning is still possible! Anyway, moving on...**

**Remember to review! I love them! I promise I'm trying to keep my updates faster but... I'm having a hard time over here...I would tell you guys about it, but you don't want to hear about my life problems lol. See you guys soon!**

**Love, **

**lNightWriterl**


	15. Chapter 15

~Chapter 15~

***Present Time***

Tony weaved his fingers together as soon as Ducky paused in his story, letting everyone get a chance to state their thoughts.

"Wow! Tony you-"

"There was a food fight?"

"How did you keep getting food?"

"The guy must have been _how_ big again? Seven feet?"

"Seven? No way! That's too big."

"Duck just told me he was more than six!"

"Gibbs never lets us have food fights now…"

Scowling slightly, Tony turned to Ducky who had said nothing during the flurry of comments, instead opting to watch the young NCIS agent with quiet contemplation.

"Anthony." He told him quietly "We could stop now if you wish."

"Nah." Tony smiled back, not quite reaching his eyes "Then they'll just keep bugging me about the ending. Plus you're doing a pretty good job Duck. Hate to be the killjoy over here." The older ME frowned, messing absentmindedly with a thread on his coat.

"I did not think this through." He murmured "I forgotten how much pain this must cause you." He said, looking sincerely disturbed.

"Hey. Don't worry about it. I'm a tough nut right?" Tony laughed lightly "Ducky I'm seriously fine. Don't worry about it. It was so long ago that it is getting kind of blurry anyways."

The Scotsman chose not to comment on this, knowing that it was a cruel lie. Anyone who knew Tony, who knew what had happened that night- those long awaited days, knew that the man would never truly have the luxury to forget what happened.

He supposed it was part of the reason that Tony was being so bitter towards their own colleague. While Jethro's attitude was monstrous towards him, Ducky had a feeling that it would have all been forgiven within a heartbeat if it wasn't for Anthony's uncontainable jealousy at that moment.

Not just because Leroy Jethro Gibbs was unrightfully held in so much higher respect than him, but simply because he had the treat of forgetting. It was one thing the younger man no doubt craved. Just to forget his demons, even for a day.

He was so jealous, he seemed to ignore the fact that while Jethro may have forgot certain things, the loss of his wife and daughter were now fresh on his mind.

"So what now?" Tim spoke up, leaning forward slightly "I think I know who it is." He added with slight pride in himself.

"Hope so McGee. You're kind of trained for this stuff." Gibbs snorted and the junior agent bit his lip at the indirect rebuke.

"Perhaps we ought to take a short break." Ducky suggested, his worry still holding out for a certain field agent. "Madam Director, if we could have a word?" with a look of disgusting superiority towards her ex-lover, Jenny made her way out of the room, beckoning the doctor to follow.

Once outside, the director turned and looked at him expectantly.

"I would talk to Jethro about this but…We aren't on the best terms and neither are him and Anthony. I figured you would be the one who had the best bet of getting anywhere with this." Jenny's smile broadened some more at hearing this news, but made no comment.

"I don't believe Tony should be here when I continue this. It would be hard enough for him to hear it all again, but with Timothy and Ziva's no doubt questioning…It may be twice as hard." The smile on Jenny's face quickly fell and Ducky not for the first time, wondered whose side she was on.

The director may be smug, arrogant, secretive, and overall just obsessed over La Grenioulle, but… Part of the older man was convinced that she might care for Anthony. Even if that bit was very small. The ME had no idea what she had Anthony doing, and to be honest he wasn't all that sure he wanted to know. However, on more than one occasion, she had stuck out her neck for his wellbeing. Whether it was for her own personal matters or his, Ducky couldn't be for sure.

"What happened?" she asked him, her eyebrows coming together tightly.

"A tragedy. I told him we didn't have to talk about it at all but…" he shrugged helplessly "You know him." The last comment seemed to perk the woman up again, before her eyes latched onto her agent through the clear doors of autopsy, where nearly everyone was watching them.

"Alright." She sighed "I'll do it… But you know, he might not listen to me."

"Well that is pretty much expected." Ducky smiled kindly "It _is_ Anthony after all…" laughing lightly, the red head nodded in agreement before twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

The two walked back in, the others watching them expectantly. After sitting down, there was that awkward moment of silence in which everyone else waited for the others to talk.

"Hey." Tony spoke up with a small smile "We should have another food fight for Abs. You know since she missed the last one." Abby beamed up at her friend as Ziva and McGee perked up at the idea of a food fight. Instantly everyone in the room launched into plans. Should it be an impromptu thing? Or should it have a set time and place?

Ducky entertained their idea as he watched Jenny lean over during the distraction and whisper something lowly into Tony's ear. The two quietly seemed to be going back and forth for a moment before the younger man finally nodded and got up.

"Tony?" Jimmy asked questioningly as he went through the doors.

"I'll be right back." He promised "Just got to take care of something first." Ducky turned with a raised eyebrow at the director who simply shrugged in an _I-had-to-do-something_ kind of way.

"Alright, alright." McGee interjected "You have to tell us about the arrest now." He said impatiently and Ziva nodded in agreement, rubbing her hands together like a mad scientist would.

"Oh, the arrest part isn't quite here yet." Ducky sighed "Though I wish it was. In fact, it would have made things a lot less painful…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

Gibbs looked ready to slap Tony across the room the moment he pulled out _his_ wallet and paid the bill. How the Hell did the kid even get a hold of _his_ wallet?!

"Just think of it as paying me back for all the coffees you stole." The little demon had said as he pulled out a hundred dollar bill and put it on the table. "What?" he asked when he saw Gibbs' face "I said I would give her a good tip. Never said I would tip her with my money."

Abby giggled, clutching onto Tony's arm with an undeniable fondness in her eyes. After Tony had taken care of the man for her, the Goth had been completely won over.

"Come on idiot." Gibbs scowled, walking towards the car "We have to arrest this dirtbag."

"Ouch." Tony frowned "You just called a woman a dirtbag."

"You deny it?"

"No, no." Tony shook his head "Just seems a bit…I don't know." He shrugged and Gibbs shook his head. The kid used woman like he did boat tools, yet when he called a female killer a dirtbag, he jumped to defend them. Weird.

The arrangements were quickly switched for driving. Gibbs would be with Sam, Vivian, and Tony to go to the killer's house, while Ducky, Gerald, and Abby headed back to HQ. It took a bit longer to get on the road than expected, seeing as Viv and Tony had a fight to the death over who rode shotgun (Viv won).

"Whatever." Tony pouted "I didn't want to sit next to Gibbs anyways."

"What was that DiNozzo?"

"Nothing." The detective smirked and pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call Alex and tell him to meet us there." He told them and began dialing.

There was a pause as everyone waited for Tony to start talking, trying to keep quiet for them to have their conversation.

"Hey Al! We're heading to the house now. Everything should be ready, ho-" his voice suddenly broke off. "Alex? Hey man, what are you-?" there was another pause in which Tony frowned. "Vanessa? What are you talking about?" Gibbs eyes quickly flickered to the rear view mirror, eyeing the man in question as his eyes widened in what could only be in pure horror.

"Do. Not. Move." He said in a tone that Gibbs had never heard the young detective use before. It was a cross between forced calmness and seriousness "We're coming. Are you at the house? Where is she? Okay." His phone was snapped shut and Sam opened his mouth, probably to ask what the heck had just happened, but Tony cut him off.

"She's got Rachel, Vanessa, and Alex." He said forcefully "We have to move. Now."

"Tony, we're almost there." Viv interjected soothingly, though her eyes were wide with panic.

"Go faster." Tony gritted out, his eyes narrowing at the odometer, its needle pointing at 120 mph.

Gibbs didn't respond to any of this, his simply followed the request and pushed harder on the pedal. God, this was going to get nasty. He wasn't for sure how their killer had gotten a hold of the three Smiths, but he knew one thing was for sure. If the look in DiNozzo's eyes was anything to go by… Marie Peace was in some serious trouble.

* * *

***Present Time***

"Marie Peace?" Jimmy yelped, looking grief-stricken. "You mean Robert Peace's sister?"

"The very same." Ducky agreed and Tim fist pumped the air.

"I knew it!" he smirked and Ziva gave a self-satisfied nod.

"What of Alex and his daughters?" she asked quietly and Ducky frowned.

"All in time." He murmured.

"I don't get it though…" Jimmy frowned "How did Marie do it?"

"Well," Abby jumped in, looking pleased to find a way to speak again "It was like this. John Payne over there was having an affair with Marie, one that her brother knew nothing about and neither did John's girlfriend. When Robert went on his hunting trip, Marie took the opportunity to see her lover, only to find him picking up some things from his girlfriend's house while she was on vacation. Marie quickly learned that he was cheating on her so she went and grabbed a bear claw from her brother's shed. After that she went over to him and raked it his stomach with it, catching him off guard before choking him with the dog tags." She finished and grinned at the stunned look on her friend's face.

"And _that_ is why you don't cheat on women." She concluded and watched as everyone gave her a faint nod.

"So…Why did you wait to arrest her?" Jenny asked "How would it mess with the case?"

"She worked at a popular hunting store with her brother." Ducky shrugged "There were lots of people and if she had been arrested there, she could have grabbed a weapon from anywhere and hurt civilians, not to mention got away quickly. She was supposed to head home, and _then_ get arrested."

"But she must have figured out you were onto her somehow." Ziva stated with a frown.

"Probably her brother mentioned that we asked about her in her interrogation." Gibbs sighed "Stupid mistake." he added, rubbing his eyes warily; wafts of memories were suddenly hitting him hard.

_Help…Please Help...Tony! Tony!__ Please, please Tony…Help! We don't want to die…Oh god please!_

The screaming became louder and more intense, causing Gibbs to almost hold his head at the blistering yells. The smell of blood came over him as well as the sound of someone choking mercilessly on something.

Shuddering slightly, his eyes fell onto Jenny, wondering if she had tried to get DiNozzo out of here for that very reason, her and Ducky could have been talking about that… For once, he felt a wave of gratefulness wash over him. He didn't think he could stand the look on his agent's face if he was forced to relive whatever had happened.

Who's idea was this story telling thing anyway? Some things should have been left buried…

* * *

**Haha! And guess who is back with an update that is on time? Oh that's right! This chick! lol, sorry I'm pretty proud of myself for getting this up within three days or so of my last post. **

**So yeah. Things are going to be getting PRETTY intense soon :P Hope you guys are ready for all the fun (; Marie Peace? Did you think it would be her? I sure didn't until like...Thirty minutes ago. I orginally had it be Robert, but I thought that wasn't too surprising, and Marie actually made more sense then he did. **

**Anyways, I got this review from a lovely reviewer that said my timeline was wrong...They're right. *Shrugs* I got it wrong a couple times before that too, and changed it. At this point I figured God is sending me a sign that my story can't be accurate time wise. Smh. But anyway, THANK YOU anyway for whoever sent me that (I tried to PM you but for some reason it wouldn't work...), because I was actually confusing myself with that the other day when I saw an episode on season 4...Now I understand why!**

**Moving on...Don't think I have too much to say except to please review. 300 reviews baby! I feel loved (: Thank you all for reading!**

**lNightWriterl**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone (: Say hello to Jason! For a quick explanation, I broke both my hands a couple weeks ago when I knocked my little brother away from a car...I fell and the wheels ran over my hands. I was lucky it wasn't worse, but I'm still over here complaining my butt off. Ethan (little bro) is alright, but I think he now has a fear of cars...Anyway, that's why I couldn't write the past couple weeks, and why I'm not typing now! My lovely, darling, handsome boyfriend Jason agreed to type this up for me. Basically I'm telling him what to put down and he's writing what I'm saying. So if you guys review, please give him a shout out for doing this for me! Hope you enjoy this next chapter (:**

* * *

~Chapter 16~

***Ten Years Ago***

The moment the car slowed, Tony jumped out, not even waiting for it to fully stop. The house looked the same as it had before, but the detective couldn't help but feel it was much more foreboding this time around. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and Tony couldn't help but give mirthless chuckle at how cliché it all sounded. _It was a dark and stormy night…_

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called out, and Tony paused momentarily for the older man to get out of the vehicle and run after him, gun no longer holstered. "I know you weren't planning on running in there alone." He snapped as he caught up. Tony didn't reply, his mind solely focused on the house. Sensing where his head must have been at the moment Gibbs quickly tapped the man's cheek, regaining his attention.

"Do not. Shoot her." He said slowly "Not unless you have to. And stop letting your personal feelings get in the way. Go do your job. Got it?" It looked for a moment as though the younger man would argue, but decided against it.

"Alright." Gibbs sighed "On three…One…Two…Go!" Both went through the door, respective weapons raised, the call of "NCIS" mixed with "Baltimore PD" in the air.

Nothing.

"Clear." Tony gritted and looked around hastily "ALEX!" he called out, waiting for his partner to respond.

"What did he say on the phone?" Gibbs interjected, his eyes zeroing in on different places.

"He said that he went to meet us at the house. When he got there he saw Rachel's car and ran inside. Apparently Marie tricked Rachel and Vanessa into coming in or something. When he ran in, she knocked him out."

"How'd they make the call?"

" 'Nessa told me that she gave them the phone. She wanted them to call me so I knew they were there."

"Ok." Gibbs breathed as he entered another room. "Where wou-"

"This way." Tony cut off, moving towards the other end of the house. Gibbs ran after him, taking note of all the broken glass in the kitchen and what looked to be blood on the floor.

"How do you know?"

"I just…Know." Tony shrugged as they made their way further in the labyrinth of halls. "Kind of like…I don't know. Don't you ever just get that weird feeling you know what you're doing?" Despite the situation, Gibbs had to smile. He was right before, the kid _did_ have potential.

"I'm famous for it." After a half incredulous look, Tony pointed to a smaller door, which looked to be something like a closet and nodded. Gibbs frowned, but raised his gun, highly doubting that Marie would keep her victims in a closet of all places.

As it turned out, she didn't. She kept them in cellar that a closet door led _into._ Gibbs couldn't be for sure this was part of the original house or was added, but either way it was creepy.

"Alex?" Tony called again and this time there was an answer.

"Tony? TONY!" the kid made to run forward, but Gibbs grabbed his arm.

"Calm down. She might be waiting to take you out down there." He growled and Tony threw him a lethal look. "Slowly." He instructed and crept forward.

The place looked like something you would find in an old vampire film. Dim lights, and stone floors. The stairs went straight down into a larger room below, which was cold and water dripped somewhat rhythmically from the ceiling. Tony's bounced around, no doubt searching for his missing friends.

"Marie Peace?" Gibbs called out "NCIS. Come out now." It was a long shot but hey, people did actually come out sometimes.

"Help" a voice called out. It sounded young and thoroughly frightened "Please Help...Tony!"

"Rachel!" Tony looked around once more before running to the young woman's aid. A nasty cut was made right above her brow, and all Gibbs could really think at the moment was that it was a shame that should happen before her wedding. Rachel, Gibbs had noticed, didn't look much like her father and sister. Her hair was significantly lighter, almost blonde, and her skin much whiter. The one trait she did have in common though, was those blue eyes that at the moment were shining with unshed tears.

"Oh…Oh God, Tony." She practically sobbed as her friend untied her.

"Whoa…Okay, Rach…Where are the others? Where's Alex?"

"I…I don't know." She breathed "Tony you have to get out of here. She wants to-" her voice suddenly stopped, as though paralyzed from working.

"Rachel? Hey Rachel!" Tony called, trying to regain her lost attention. Gibbs spun around suddenly, gun raised as he felt another presence behind him, only to find a strong force knock it to the ground.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" a voice hissed and Tony looked up from his spot next to Rachel.

"Robert?" The man was standing there, frowning with a hot cup of coffee in his hand.

"I leave for an hour, and come back to find you people in my house! What is she doing in here?" he asked, jerking his head towards a still frozen Rachel.

"Robert listen." Tony said quietly "You need to take Rachel and get out."

"What? Why?" he demanded with narrow eyes. Gibbs took a deep breath, wanting to give the man a swift kick in the ass for being so stupid. Where the _hell_ were Scotts- Sam _whatever_, him and Blackladder anyway? He was going to rip them a new one if those two idiots let this man into the house...

"Just do it. Leave. Now." Robert paused for a moment, looking completely bewildered, but offered the young woman his hand. She didn't move though, and her hands appeared to be shaking as she gave a look of fear.

"Leave?" a new voice called out chillingly and a loud slamming noise brought Gibbs's attention back to the door. "Why would you want to leave? I'm just getting started." Marie smiled as she descended down the steps.

* * *

***Present Time***

"Hey! I'm back!" Tony called, sliding into the room. He looked as though he had run a marathon with windblown hair and breathing heavily.

All heads whipped towards him, eyes wide. Abby (despite the fact she knew the outcome to the tale) was clutching Palmer's hand like a lifeline. The ME assistant himself was hiding behind Abby's hair, seemingly trying to hide from Ducky's words. Ziva had solemn look on her face, eyes unblinkingly refusing to move from one corner of the room while McGee put his now white knuckles on his knees, his face full of stunned horror.

Gibbs and Jenny could be credited on keeping their cool however. The director's face, while showed incredible sadness, was otherwise blank as Gibbs simply stared at Ducky, as if mentally willing the words to change.

"Umm…Should I try that again?" Tony asked and then gave a quick twirl "Hey! I'm back!" A weak reply of 'hey' echoed off of the cool, metal tables.

Tony bit his lip, looking distinctly uncomfortable at the looks he was getting. There were too many people staring at him with expressions he did not like to see.

Nobody seemed to know how to talk for the next five minutes or so, until the SFA took matters into his own hands.

"Where were we?"

"Marie just came down the stairs. You are trapped." Ziva provided stoically, and Tony's face sobered.

"Oh. Uh…Alright."

"Anthony, I really think it would be beneficial for you to leave." Ducky replied gently.

"Why?" Tony snapped, looking thoroughly offended "You think I can't handle a stupid story?" he seethed and a film of emotions began to play on his face- ranging from anger to hurt. Ducky instantly seemed to backtrack, trying to find a kinder way to say _get out!_

"I'll tell it myself!" the agent snapped, looking at his co-workers with utter defiance.

The group looked at him horrified.

"No, no! I didn't mean to imply that-"

"I can do it." the Italian said through narrow eyes and Ziva jumped in.

"Tony we are just saying that-"

"I _can_ do it!" he glowered forcefully as his fist clenched by his sides. Worried looks were exchanged as well as uneasy glances. Tony gave another challenging look- daring them to try to stop him from proving himself before taking a deliberate breath.

"When Marie came down is when everything went to Hell." Tony started, completely ignoring the ME's more quiet protests. "It wasn't really well lit down there either, so it was hard to see…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"Marie? What are you doing down here?" Robert asked, his eyes wild and bewildered. Marie ignored him, walking over and picking up the gun her brother had knocked from Gibbs hands earlier.

"Put you're weapon down." She stated calmly, pointing the gun at Tony "Put it down else I'll blow her head off." The gun's position quickly switched to Rachel who let in a sharp intake when she saw it. Without thinking, Tony moved in between her and the barrel.

"Aw, how sweet." She sneered "You're going to die to protect her. Adorable." Her hand was trembling faintly, and an ugly smile was plastered onto her face. Tony didn't say word, simply taking out his own gun to prove his point.

"Hey now!" Robert cut in "You better quit pointing that at my sister!" he growled.

"Your sister is pointing a gun at me." Tony told him calmly.

"It's our house! She has a right!"

"Did she have a right to kill John Payne?" Tony glowered and Robert froze, looking alarmed.

"Are you all _crazy_? Marie? _Kill_ someone?"

"She is aiming a gun at my partner." Gibbs said quietly and Marie quickly turned the gun on him.

"You." She hissed "Shut. Up. I did what I had to do. And I'll keep doing what I have to do."

"You didn't have to kill your ex Marie." The detective lulled, his voice taking on an odd tone which seemed to be a cross between comforting and accusing.

"Don't tell me what I didn't have to do!" she shrieked.

"Marie?" Robert choked out, probably still waiting for her to spit out that she didn't do it.

"I gave up _everything_ for that man! _Everything_! I had bigger dreams than working at a damn hunting shop! I wanted to go to college, to get a real job, to move out of the house _that I share with my brother_! But no, _he_ came along and ruined everything. I spent all my money trying to get him to like me. Making myself look nice, getting him nice stuff. When we finally _did_ get together he always wanted more and more and more!" she screamed, her voice getting shriller by the second "Then…Then I see him going into some other _whore's_ house, getting his stuff and…and…" she let out a choked sob "You should have just left it alone. That jerk _deserved_ what he got. I had the _right_to kill him. And now…I've lost everything." She whispered the last part adding to the already theatrical performance. Gibbs had tried to move in a way he could grab the gun from her grasp, but she kept repositioning her weapon at his heart every time he tried.

"Listen Marie. I don't want to hurt you. But if you don't put the gun down- _now_- you're going to force me to shoot you okay? We don't want that."

Before Tony could finish his sentence however, Robert pounced.

"You ain't shootin her!" he howled, knocking the detective to the ground. Rachel screamed and Gibbs quickly went to his…_acquaintance's_ aid.

"Oh no you don't." Marie hissed, pointing the gun yet again at him. "Let's see how your buddy over there holds up against my brother." She smiled before adding "He's killed a lot of animals by hand before- this should be quick."

A sickening crack echoed around the chamber, and Rachel let out another cry when she saw blood beginning to leak onto the ground. Peace had slammed DiNozzo's head fiercely into the ground, looking as though he may have split the skull. The gun had already flew across the room before Tony hit Robert's face, catching him off guard. The situation quickly flipped and Tony was on top, pounding the guy unconscious. Gibbs spun around, looking for where the gun went when-

BANG! The gunshot ricocheted through the chamber, making everyone freeze in shock. Robert Peace fell to the floor, a bullet buried in his skull as Rachel stood there, shaking with the fallen gun in her hands.

"You…You _bitch_!" shrieked Marie, looking at her brother's corpse "You killed him!" whirling around in anger, she pulled the trigger at the same moment Gibbs jumped on her.

"TONY!" the girl cried out a split second before the bullets ripped into her chest.

Blood was everywhere. Gibbs could only see red as he slipped into the sticky substance, grappling with the girl for the gun. She shot off two more rounds as he pinned her, yanking the wretched thing out of her grasp. As a last attempt she reached for the gun Rachel had dropped and grasped it, pointing it towards Tony.

Gibbs didn't hesitate before firing.

Her head jerked back and the girl's body went limp, the gun she had pointed at Gibbs' partner clattering to the floor. Gibbs normally would have felt the tiniest bit of pain at having to kill someone again- even if it was a crazed killer...

He can't say he felt that way this time.

* * *

"Rachel…Come on Rach…" Tony's voice was shaking as he put pressure onto the wound, already knowing it was no good. Blood was thick on the ground and his friend's eyes fluttered open and closed rapidly.

"Tony." She groaned and weakly attempted to grab his arm "No…good." She mumbled, her weak tone already defeated "Hit…heart…" she gasped out. Tony shook his head violently, obviously trying to regain his control.

"No…Come on Rachel, you have a wedding to go to. You can't do this now. Think about Wyatt, okay? I don't want to have to tell him this. Rachel…Stop." At this point, his voice was slowly beginning to reduce to begging. "Rachel please don't… Remember what I told you before? That night when we all got drunk? Come on. What about your Dad? Vanessa? Wyatt? What about me?" the blonde gave a sorry sigh as she grasped his arm tighter, giving the smallest pull as a sign for him to stop trying to put any more pressure on her injury.

" 'Nessa…and Dad…Other room." She whispered and Tony blinked, looking torn before sprinting after them and staying with Rachel.

"Gibbs?" he called back and a muffled groan came from his right.

"Over here." He grouched, as he pushed the dead girl's body off of him. His face softened drastically when he saw Rachel's condition.

"Can you stay with her while I go to find Vanessa and Alex?" his tone was low, but Gibbs understood, giving a curt nod.

"Don't do anything stupid" he advised. Tony nodded, giving Rachel another reassuring squeeze and mumbling to her how she better look picture perfect by her wedding as he stood up, moving past Marie and Robert's bodies to the other room across the chamber.

Pain raked through the younger man as he walked. During the last two rounds Marie had shot, Tony felt his leg being grazed by the bullet. It wasn't bad by any means, his head was in far worse condition, but luckily he had managed to temporally stop that bleeding.

The smell of grief was the first thing that hit Tony when he opened the door. It was thick, making the area hard to enter. Aside from the beam of light Tony had just let in, it was completely dark nothing being seen through the blackness.

"No…No…No…No…No…No...No…" Jumping, the detective spun around at hearing the voice, the voice he knew all too well…

"Alex?" he whispered.

"No…No…No…No…No…No…." a moan came and Tony opened the door wider to more light could come in. He almost instantly regretted it though, feeling as though he were about to be sick.

Alex and Vanessa were both tied up, side by side next to each other. Vanessa's small frame was now completely white, a puddle of blood dripping around her as her head lay back with a single bullet hole through it. Her father on the other hand, was shaking, his eyes closed and murmuring constantly under his breath.

"Alex…Hey, Alex." Tony choked, throwing himself to the ground in front of his partner. He tried not to look at the dead girl who had only been at his home hours before.

He hadn't made it in time. Rachel was dying…Vanessa was dead…Alex was…Tony didn't even know. All he knew for certain was that he had failed them. He had failed them all. Scarlett was going to have live her life without her husband and daughters, and God Tony hoped she hated him for it.

"She isn't dead." Alex said suddenly, his mouth gurgling with blood from what looked like a split lip.

"Come on." Tony whispered, as he untied his hands, hoisting him up. "Come on." Leading the older man out of the room, he walked over past Gibbs who shook his head when he saw Tony.

"She was gone after about three minutes." He told him quietly and Tony flinched.

"Rachel…" Alex moaned as he saw his other daughter lying on the ground, dead. Now white, Tony almost ran from the cellar with Alex, trying to focus on getting out. Just getting out…Getting out….Out…Out…Out….

He just needed out.

* * *

Alex was instantly hospitalized, as was Tony and Gibbs (much to their objection). All Tony had wanted to do was to find Scarlett, to tell her how sorry he was.

The damn doctors wouldn't let him though. Something about blood levels and the fact his head was bleeding. What did they know anyway? He just needed a band aid on that thing.

After a series of stitches, concussion checks, wraps, cleansing wounds, and scans it was decided that the detective had to stay the night. The announcement had brought on quite the argument though, in which it ended with Tony's doctor being changed (twice), and the new doctor practically promising whatever was needed to be promised in order to get Tony to stay in bed…Which was why he was up at three o'clock in the morning, sitting by his partner's bedside, listening as the monitors beeped uneasily.

Alex's mental condition was considered 'unstable' and his physical condition was getting close to that term as well. While Marie had not inflicted any physical pain on the man, after seeing both his daughters dead and partly due to old age and stress levels, Alex quickly had a heart attack, causing him to be moved to ICU.

"You know, sitting here isn't going to change much." Gibbs murmured quietly from the doorway. He had gone to leave several hours before after being subjected to tests and stitches of his own. He had been released as long he 'laid off the coffee' and 'got good sleep'…Which was obviously not happening, but hey, Baltimore doctors didn't need to know that.

Tony shifted his position in the chair next to Alex so he could look the man in the eye before answering.

"Hey Agent Gibbs." He smiled weakly, gesturing for him to come in. The older man shrugged, pulling up a chair next the detective and waiting for him to speak again after a few moments of silence.

"Vanessa or Rachel would always be with him…Whenever he got hurt on the job. At least one would always be there for him. It didn't matter how small. I figured since they aren't here now…" his voice trailed off and Gibbs frowned. He didn't take DiNozzo as the sentimental type, but he had learned throughout the course of a few days the man could surprise him.

"His wife come on in yet?" Gibbs asked and Tony nodded absently.

"She cried…A lot. Not surprising I guess." He sighed "Then she looked at me and asked me where I was." There was another pause in which the man just simply stared, looking lost. "Where I was…" he repeated slowly before his voice began to rose "I was sitting safe in a _car_ after eating from a freaking five star restaurant. That's where I was." He growled, his voice sounding sickeningly disgusted with himself. "I was just…Safe when Vanessa…and Rachel- God I don't even know what that bitch _did_ to her before we got there!" his hissed and buried his face in his hands.

Gibbs didn't reply. He simply waited for the tirade to continue. Silence, he had always noted, was the best motivation for making someone speak.

"I kept hoping she would hit me. Scream at me. Something. Just for her to tell me how awful I was for letting her family _die_ right in front of me. How I could let her husband watch his daughters die and then waltz him out of the house… But you know what she did instead? She just looked at me and told _me_ she was sorry. Me! What the Hell did she have to be sorry about? What did _she_ do!? She wasn't the one who just let Alex practically almost die! She didn't let Rachel or Vanessa die! What did she do?"

Once more Gibbs refused to speak, though he gave the smallest nod in approval to Scarlett Smith, whoever she was. Despite the fact she had just lost a good chunk of her family- she still was level headed enough to understand that Tony had too.

"You know…" he started slowly and frowned. He had never done this before and wasn't entirely for sure how exactly to do it. Normally, he was just assigned members on his team. He had never really…Asked anyone before. "When Alex wakes up, I don't think he'll be coming back to work." Internally he winced at how untactful he was doing this, but reminded himself he was leaving to go back to DC soon. It was now or never. "Maybe it would be a good idea to get away from here for a while." He told him and Tony's eyes narrowed.

"Get away to…_where_ exactly?" he asked in an almost dangerous voice. Gibbs simply shrugged.

"Heard DC in nice." He offered in what he hoped to be an offhand tone.

"Alex is coming back."

"He might." Gibbs wondered why he was agreeing with the man, it was obvious that if the guy was ever the same again, he was going to retire. If it had been anyone else in the room with him, he might have told them that too. But it wasn't. It was some gangly kid he found in the streets of Baltimore.

It was strange how much of a difference that it made.

"He will." Tony nodded fiercely "He's the only family I have, Gibbs. He _will_ make it."

Nobody could have had the heart to argue.

* * *

**I'm cruel aren't I? (Yes, yes she really is- Jason :D). Shut up. Not you guys but...Jason quit it! Ugh, MOVING on! Yeah I wasn't for sure how I wanted to off my little OC's (; I knew it had to be somewhat horrible since I've been building up to it but...I didn't want it to sound overdramatic, which it might have come off as...Either way I should get the last couple chapters up soon! Thank you guys soooooooooo much for all your reviews! Hope to see more! **

**Love,**

**lNightWriterl and Jason too! **

**P.S. now that Kensi is asleep I can add a few quick facts on here (: 1.) You guys should know she is a complete dork who has a collection of those little push pennies from everywhere she's visited 2.) She knows how to fence 3.) Her fifteenth birday is coming up on the 21st...Sucky b-day to have. Last day of the world...Sucks... 4.) She's probably going to see this, so know she is the most beautiful, gorgeous girl in the world and...Yeah. Just wanted to write some stuff about her because I'm bored, this isn't posted, and I like messing with her stuff. **

**See ya!**

**Jason (Love you Kensi :D) **


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys (: Merry Early Christmas! I decided to give your gift early, since I'm probably not going to see you guys for awhile. I'm in Colorado right now, visiting my Aunt and Uncle for Christmas :P I'm still not able to type and Jason isn't here to write this for me (he says Hi by the way lol) However, my older brother (James) and BFF Stacy helped me out this time around! So THANK YOU GUYS xoxoxoxo! Hope everyone enjoys this next chapter (:**

* * *

~Chapter 17~

***Present Time***

Tony took a deep breath and leaned back into his chair, his expression a cross between _I told you so_ and _Holy shit I think I might throw up now_.

The reactions around the room were all the same: Saddened and silent. Horrified would have been another term, if McGee and Jimmy's faces were anything to go by.

Tony had sat there, relaying every gruesome detail carefully accurate. He had told them precisely everything that had happened without as much as a blink of an eye. There were times where the agent would pause in the story, swallow hard or look away in pain. But he never once stopped completely.

"And that's what happened." He murmured softly, his eyes looking lost in thought. Ziva looked at her partner, her normally stoic expression crumbling for a millisecond to reveal a look of slight admiration and sympathy for her friend.

Her friend. With a slight pang of guilt, she wondered how many times Tony had wished Alex or his daughters were with him instead of them. With the way her and McGee had treated him over the past few months, she wouldn't be surprised if he thought it every day.

She had always seen Tony DiNozzo as such a…supercilious character. He had _some_ assets of course, but they should have been overlooked by his flaws.

She was wrong though. She would have to be. Ziva had seen things no one should have to see. She killed her own brother, lost her sister, her mother, was practically neglected by her father…Yet, somehow that all seemed inane compared to what Tony must have felt, watching not his first, but his _second_ family being murdered. To know he was only _seconds_ away from saving them. The biggest 'What if' of all times if he had made it.

To have to live with that… The thought was almost unbearable to think of.

Strength. That had to be it. To be Tony's key quality. He was smart, creative, a good investigator- but so were a lot of other people surely. But for someone to have that kind of strength… Ziva knew from experience it was a rare gift. Many people think they have it, but when put to the test…Only one in a million could prevail.

"That sounds awful." Jimmy finally spoke up, his face looking repulsed.

"Yeah…" Tony muttered and then looked up reassuringly at his friend. "But it's over now." Jimmy frowned, looking as though he wanted to argue with the fact that just because it was over, didn't mean he was okay, but seemed to think better of it.

Abby, who had been unnaturally silent since Tony had started to speak, buried herself further into his arm, as if hiding from bad memories.

Gibbs said nothing, which wasn't all that surprising. His mind though, was racing. Tony's tone throughout the whole thing was…It was just so…Matter-of-fact. It bothered the older agent a lot.

How could Gibbs have forgotten something like this? The blood, the gore, the carnage, and bloodshed of the whole situation… It just all seemed too surreal. Too dreamlike.

"Uh…I'm going to go get some coffee." Tony blurted out and the lead agent's eyes snapped to the man's face. "Does anyone want anything?" he offered and nodded at everyone's quiet request. Gibbs made no comment still as his agent got up, moving towards the exit. Jenny made a move to follow him, but he held her arm.

"Let me." He muttered and waited for her to argue with him. A very small part of him was hoping she would. It wasn't that he didn't want to face DiNozzo. It was more of the fact he wasn't for sure he wanted to hear how badly he'd messed up. When Jenny gave the smallest nod to him, he almost cursed under his breath and got up. He had never been the kind of man to back away from things, and wasn't about to start now.

"DiNozzo!" he called out, snaking his way through other agents so that he was able to catch up to his protégé.

"Hey Boss." Tony mumbled as he brought out his car keys before adding in a lighter tone "Coming to make sure I don't mess up your coffee order?"

"Damn straight." He nodded and hesitated before getting into the passenger seat. It was DiNozzo's car after all; he should at least be able to drive it…This time.

"You didn't have to do that you know." Gibbs finally spoke up, wincing. He had never been one for small talk, never would be. Yet, he figured that there could work out an exception for his agent who had just told his team about the deaths of his partner's and family.

"I did." Tony shrugged "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Why did you?" Gibbs challenged and watched as Tony's hands wound tighter around the steering wheel when he backed out of the parking space.

"Can we just not talk about this?" and Gibbs frowned, almost rolling his eyes at the irony. Normally, the situations should and would have been reversed with the two men.

"Alright." He shrugged and gave a sideways look as Tony jerked the car around, keeping his eyes focused on the road. He watched as the other man squirmed underneath the gaze his partner was nailing him with, knuckles tightening on the wheel.

"Quit that." He finally muttered when Gibbs still hadn't looked away. The agent smirked lightly, but didn't back down, his eyes still pinned on his face.

"I'm not talking about it." He said wittily, his smart-ass comment not at all ignored by DiNozzo, who finally gave him a glance.

"You know I hate it when people think I can't take things." He sighed and threw a swift glare "Why else would I do it?" Gibbs didn't answer, choosing now to finally look away and instead listen to whatever Tony was now beginning to spill out.

"It drives me insane, you know? I mean, there are times where I complain about doing stuff sure, but have I ever flat out _refused_ to do something because it was too _hard _for me? No! Yet for some reason, I'm still getting tip toed around like I'm a five-year-old kid. I don't know why I have constantly keep on proving myself over, and over, and _over_ again. I've been here the longest- aside from you, Ducky, and Abs obviously- but you would think even that fact alone would show that I know how to do _something_. It's not like you keep me here because you feel sorry for me….Right?" the last word struck something. It was so uncertain and small, that Gibbs knew instantly that it was something Tony had actually thought about.

"No." he said simply, wondering if the word would get his point across or if he needed to expand. Back when Kate was alive, she had once told him the reason why the two worked so well together was because Tony loved words so much, he made up for the ones Gibbs didn't say and vice versa. Now though, it seemed, when he was actually talking to_ Tony _about something that _mattered_ he didn't have his partner there to fill in those blank spots.

"No." Tony confirmed to himself and made another turn down town. "I knew that." He commented much quieter, making it seem as though it was the opposite.

"You ever…Been to their graves?" he asked, abruptly changing topics. Gibbs felt like this was a genuine question that he didn't know, even before the explosion. After ten years- he had never thought to ask?

"A couple… Mainly on their birthdays or whatever. I visited Scarlett the first couple years after, but kind of got the feeling she didn't want to see me. Can't say I blame her. I felt the same way when Amelia died."

And…There they were again. The fragile topic that no one really wanted to touch. The sister none of the team really knew about- the one Jenny knew too _much_ about.

"Your father didn't…Blame you for that? Did he?" Gibbs frowned, his hands clenching at the very thought. Tony pulled into a parking spot now, pausing long enough to give Gibbs a long look.

"I'm getting déjà vu here Boss. You asked me the same thing when I first started working here." He said and Gibbs didn't press the issue. That comment alone was enough of an answer for him anyways.

Coffee shops were one of Gibbs' favorite places- and not _just_ because they sold coffee either. The smell was always intoxicating, and there was something about the sound of grinding beans that always relaxed him- second only to sanding wood.

"Thanks." Tony smiled as he received the tray of steaming cups.

"Thought no one else wanted any." Gibbs frowned and Tony handed him a cup.

"Yeah, well, they will. I don't want to have to come back because they changed their minds, and I know what they want anyways. Tim is always the same with two spoonful of sugar and mint creamer- tastes weird as mess- and Ziva has to have Jasmine tea- which I find weird too because she once told me it was her family's hangover remedy. Why would you regularly drink a hangover remedy? Anyways, you like yours plain black with extra grind, and Jenny has hers with hazel creamer. Abby, Jimmy, and Ducky have their own stashes throughout NCIS." Tony finished as he blew on his own and paid.

Huh. That sounded…Really complex. To memorize _all_ those different drinks. Gibbs liked coffee just as…Coffee. Why did people have to get all weird with it anyways?

"Because people actually have taste buds Gibbs." The Italian chuckled and Gibbs blinked, forgetting momentarily how easily the younger man could read him at times.

Okay, this was an "official" problem now. Gibbs wasn't for sure at what point the two's relationship had changed- but it obviously had. Maybe it was after that damn explosion, maybe before that. Hell, he would have placed a bet it could have been shortly after Kate's death the two stopped having…Whatever they had before. Either way, he didn't like it.

Sighing, Gibbs noticed that Tony seemed in much more of a hurry to get back to headquarters now that they had their drinks. Did he sense his boss was becoming sentimental, and wanted to avoid the conversation they both knew was coming?

If Gibbs were in his position, he would speed it up too. Bring on criminals, guns, bombs, and ex-wives; Leroy Jethro Gibbs could take them all. One conversation about feelings and thoughts? God, let him get out of the room as fast as he could.

Perhaps he should wait…Until they could talk face to face. If they were to argue it wasn't safe for Tony to be driving. Yeah, he should definitely wait.

No. He was being a coward. Suck it up and do it if you're going to do it. That had always been a motto he lived by, so why was he finding it so hard to follow through? On the count of three he'd do it…

One…Two…Two and a half….

"We're here!" Tony yelped and jumped out of the car before he had even taken the keys out of the car. Grabbing the keys, it looked as though the kid was about to break into a full out sprint as he moved towards the building…

Yeah…The conversation could definitely wait.

* * *

No one seemed the least bit surprised when Tony handed out the drinks, despite the fact they had said they didn't want any before. Ziva accepted hers with a grateful nod, as did Tim, before Jenny grasped her own cup giving the SFA a brief smile of thanks.

"So that was the first time you turned down the job?" Jimmy asked, taking a moment of clean off his glasses.

"Yep. The second job offer was…A little bit weirder."

"Weirder?" Tim asked "Was it like Kate's? He just told you if you did something wrong he'd fire you and left you standing there trying to figure out if you had a job or not? Er…No offense boss." He added hastily at the look Gibbs gave him.

"Nah, it was weirder. Katie had it easy compared to me. When I got _my_ job offered, my head almost got blown off."

"He tried to _shoot_ you?" Jimmy asked alarmed and Abby giggled.

"No. Tony tried to shoot _him_ and then Gibbs punched him."

"…And you still said yes?"

"Why did you try to shoot him?"

"It was an accident!" Tony defended himself. "I mean, he broke into my apartment at three in the morning- I think I had a right to point a gun at him."

"Then why did Gibbs punch you?"

"…I honestly don't know." Tony frowned and Gibbs snorted.

"Well DiNozzo, I'm thinking it may have to do with the fact you had a ski mask on and was pointing a gun at me."

"I _told_ you my heater had broken earlier. My face got a little cold. I'm so sorry I scared you as you broke into my apartment. My sincerest apologies." Tony laughed, rolling his eyes before looking at Tim. "Like I said. Kate had is easy compared to me. Though I thought your job offer was pretty good too." He grinned and McGee groaned, rubbing the back of his head in a comforting manner.

"Yeah. I thought that done being teased and what not. Then you and Kate hit me!" he grouched and Tony chortled happily.

"I just loved your expression when Gibbs said 'You belong to me now'!" he snickered as he deepened his voice in an attempt to do an impression of his Boss. "Oh McGoo…You looked like you wanted to run for the door!"

"Was my entrance to NCIS the only normal one?" Ziva asked, looking between her teammates.

"Well you weren't exactly normal either." Tony offered and Ziva gave him a cold look.

"I was _too_ normal." She protested.

"If you say so." Tony shrugged and leaned back into his chair. "Are we done with this story yet? It is _soo_ tiring listening about me." He grinned and Ducky instantly jumped on the opportunity.

"We can be if you wish Anthony." He said and this time, no one contradicted him as they watched Tony's face crumble for a moment at the reminder of his hard times.

"It's almost done." He shrugged "Might as well just…" he paused for a moment, trailing off.

"Of course. Would you like to-?"

"I can if you want."

"No, no. I just wanted to double check. Anyways, it was the very next day when Abigail and myself arrived at the hospital- along with Agents Gavotte and Blackadder of course. We had come to check on the two and…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"MOVE IT PEOPLE!" Abby yelled, marching her way through the corridors as nurses and doctors fled at the sight of a very worried Abigail Scuito. Behind her, three other figures scurried along, trying to keep up with a girl who was moving way too fast for those platform shoes.

"Uh…Abby?" Viv asked as she attempted to catch up "Do you even know where Gibbs _is_?" she asked and Abby rolled her eyes, but didn't turn around.

"Duh." She snapped at her "Gibbs said he had been free to go home if he wanted to. But, he's still here right? So that means there is only _one_ place he could be." She deduced as Sam looked at her with what could only be described as pure fear and disbelief.

"The _cafeteria_?" Viv asked and cut herself off as she saw her Boss pay for a coffee at the counter and glance over at them.

"GIBBS!" Abby shrieked "OH MY GOD GIBBS! I thought you were dead, and I didn't want you to dead. It gave me nightmares- not that I slept when I found out you were hurt, but either way I just wanted to cry! Are you okay? Of course not! Is Tony alright? No, no that's another stupid question. I really, really, really-"

"Abby…Breathe." Gibbs told her, taking a sip of his coffee. The Goth froze and took a very dramatic breath, sucking in the air and looking at Gibbs pointedly.

"Now…Let it out." He told her and she instantly relaxed, blowing out the air.

"So anyways, I was really, really worried and I didn't know what to do and I thought I was kind of going crazy, just a little because-" she continued at the same speed she had been talking before. The lead agent looked her over bemusedly before turning to Ducky who was watching him with reserved judgment.

"You look…Rather well Jethro." He admitted with an almost exasperated expression "Though I daresay, that coffee will do you in before any man with a gun has a chance." He added with another disdainful glance at the cup.

"You see DiNozzo around here?" Gibbs asked with a smirk as he took another sip of coffee, ignoring his colleague's outraged look when he did so.

"Wouldn't he be in his room?" Viv asked "I mean, he is still technically a patient right?"

"Yeah." Gibbs shrugged "But I don't think the dumbass seems to realize that." This comment, seemed to divert the doctor's attention away from Gibbs' coffee.

"_What_? Anthony has a split skull and a bullet graze! Not to even mention the concussion! How could he even consider the possibility of being out of bed? How could you let this happen Jethro? I'll find the foolish lad myself! The very thought of what that might do to his blood levels…" Ducky spun around, continuing is medical spill as he went through the hospital corridors, looking for the young detective.

"Will…What about his partner?" Sam asked, beady eyes looking up earnestly into the team leader's face. "Is he alright?"

What a stupid question. A man sees both of his children murdered and the kid asks if the man will be alright. It had been years since Gibbs himself had lost his beloved daughter, and he wasn't even close to being alright. You never truly get over something like that, you just get better at swallowing that bitter taste every morning.

"Uh…No?" Sam squeaked out and Gibbs narrowed his glare.

"No." he snapped "He's still in the same condition." Sam (That was definitely his name. Gibbs was sure of it. Sam…Sam Scotts?) Sam shrunk back at the tone and let his gaze fall to Vivian for help.

His partner didn't jump to his defense though as she usually did. Viv knew that Gibbs was still ticked about their little mishap yesterday. Despite the fact their boss gave them strict orders to call the EMT and not let _anyone_ into the house- Robert Peace still got in and his life was over because of it. Their careers were hanging by a thread because of it. _One_ more thing wrong from either of them and Gibbs was prepared to kick their asses off if his team and over into the next state.

"Uh…Agent Gibbs?" another voice jumped in and he turned to find DiNozzo standing there without a pungent look on his face. The last time he had seen the younger man, he'd been arguing with his doctor over his release in a set of full scrubs (which certainly did not help his side of the argument). Now though, he'd changed into a t-shirt and sweats, looking tiredly at the older ME hovering by his side.

"Can you _please_ call off your crazy Medical Examiner? I don't really get what he's saying- Is he speaking English?"

"Of course I am!" Ducky sniffed "I am _trying_ to explain to you how you are increasing your chances of exposure by-"

"See? What language do you think that is? Medical-ese? Doctor-ish? It's lost on me."

"I'll translate for you DiNozzo: Get your ass back to bed." Tony blinked, looking purely shocked that Gibbs hadn't taken his side.

"But I'm-"

"Let me guess. 'Fine'?" a woman asked, emerging from the doorway. Gibbs' first impression was that this woman had to have been Tony's doctor. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun behind her head, and her lips were pursed as she looked over Tony critically. At closer examination though, she was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, not any clothes a doctor would wear in the hospital. Her eyes were bloodshot and by her sides, her hands shook slightly.

"Scarlett." Tony breathed out, looking at her apprehensively. Any confidence he had been showing before was instantly flattened by this woman's appearance. Gibbs frowned, taking her in one last time. He could see how this woman had been Vanessa and Rachel's mother. While Vanessa may have taken after her father- Rachel had been a duplicate of her Mom.

"I think the man is trying to make a point Anthony." She said in what could only be her "no nonsense" voice. Gibbs felt a sting when he thought of how similar it was to Shannon's.

"I'm fine." The detective told her gently and moved towards her side, looking as though he was trying to find a position that would be the most supportive.

"I'm sure you are." She muttered dryly bit her lip, looking down at the ground for a moment. "I'm also sure, if you are so fine, that you won't mind Dr. Bengel looking over your wounds?" Tony blinked, his mouth opened and ready to argue before snapping it shut.

"Yes ma'am." He grouched in a way that was almost amusing. It was strange how flippant the man's tone was- even when calling someone ma'am.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs" Gibbs introduced himself when Scarlett's eyes fell on him. "This is Doctor Donald Mallard, Dr. Abigail Scuito, and Agents Blackladder and…er…Sam." He finished lamely. He heard a huff somewhere, but decided to let it go.

"Scarlett Smith." The woman smiled and held out her hand. "It is nice to meet you Agent Gibbs."

"You too ma'am." He told her, nodding the rest of the group to follow Tony back to his room while he hung back with the woman who he was sympathizing with at the moment.

"I…I think I need to thank you." Scarlett told him, her dark eyes fluttering back down to the floor. Gibbs cocked his head in confusion. Thank him for…_What_? When Mrs. Smith didn't receive an answer, she continued.

"If you hadn't taken Tony with you… He would have been with Alex and she would have gotten all of them."

"I didn't do anything…and I'm sorry about your family."

"Thank you." She whispered "I'm…I'm a bit of a mess over it."

"You seem to be handling it pretty well." Gibbs told her and she let out a small hysterical laugh.

"I have to. For Tony at least."

"He thinks you should hate him."

"Part of me wants to." She sighed "He's alive while my own daughters are not…Rachel was about to get married…Vanessa was going to graduate from college with her PHD this year. They had so much ahead of them and now…Nothing. But, I can't hate Tony for that." She exhaled "He doesn't deserve that. Vanessa and Rachel adored him- Alex spent most of the last two years trying to take care of him. I don't think my family would want me to treat him any less. He did nothing wrong."

Gibbs gave a nod of respect, knowing firsthand how much easier it would be for her to simply put the blame on the young man's shoulders. It is easier to punch with a punching bag his Dad used to say.

"You think your husband will get any better?" he asked her and Scarlett wrung her hands together distraughtly.

"He's…Better. Now that the hysteria is gone he can talk normally and knows what's going on. But his physical condition is still critical and he keeps having flashbacks… He's not going to work again- not after that." She said quietly, her tone yearning. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Tony. He seems so convinced everything is going to be normal again."

"But it won't be." Gibbs finished "I offered him a job and he turned me down because of that." He told her and the woman's attention jumped back to him.

"You did?" she asked sharply and ran a hand over her face "You did." Her voice confirmed and then looked at him with narrowed eyes "You'll treat him well?"

"He said no." Gibbs said and Scarlett snorted.

"Well he won't say no next time you ask him. I'll talk to him…Alex too if he's in good enough condition. It isn't good for him to stay here. I don't want some random person to become his partner either. My son was killed because his partner wasn't there to keep him safe- I'm not letting that happen again." She said, her hands clenched. Gibbs gave her another searching look before slowly nodding.

"I'll keep him safe." He told her and Scarlett gave him a small smile.

"Good. You break that promise…I'll break every bone in your body. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Gibbs chuckled and followed her down the hall.

* * *

***Present***

"I approve of that woman." Ziva stated the moment Ducky had finished and turned sharply to Tony. "Why have we not met her?" she demanded and Tony blinked.

"Uh…I saw her the other day." He offered and Ziva scowled.

"Why have _we_ not met her?"

"Gibbs met her."

"Yes, but why have _I_ not met her?" Ziva rolled her eyes and Tony shrugged.

"I didn't know you would want to. Next time I see her, I'll let you know." He told her and Ziva patted his cheek in agreement.

"Do you see Alex now?" Jimmy inquired, his eyes skimming over his friend's face.

"Yeah. He retired right after that. He still has those flashbacks though…and a pacemaker in his chest for his heart." Tony explained, frowning.

"I will meet him too." Ziva informed him seriously.

"Alright, alright. Cool it grasshopper." Tony snorted.

"Grasshopper?" Ziva asked "I am not an insect Tony. I'm an assassin."

"No, it is a movie reference…Kind of." Tim jumped in "People say that to people young and inexperienced at something."

"In McGrasshopper's case, that something would be everything." The Senior Field Agent grinned.

"What does a grasshopper have to do with experience? I see no connection." Ziva frowned, making a face at the strange American terms.

"There isn't…You just say it." Jimmy told her and Ziva stuck her lips out in concentration.

"So…You would be a grasshopper in the medical field?" she asked him and Jimmy let out a squawk of offense as Tony busted out laughing.

"_What_? He is young, yes? And he only has a few years of experience, yes?" Ziva cried out, throwing her hands up.

"Shut it grasshoppers." Gibbs intervened, rolling his eyes. Part of the older agent was troubled after reliving the conversation with Scarlett Smith. He…Had kept his promise right? Tony was safe…Right? Though one look at Jenny changed his mind. Gibbs had no idea what his agent was doing for that woman, and he couldn't exactly watch his partner's six when he didn't know what he was doing.

"Hey Duck." He said suddenly, standing up "Can you help me translate that e-mail you sent me earlier? Just thought about it." The doctor frowned, probably trying to remember what e-mail he was talking about when a look of understanding fell across his features and he nodded.

"Of course Jethro." He told him and smiled at the others "One moment." He announced and followed Gibbs out of the room.

* * *

**Huh. I'm thinking the ending is a bit abrupt buuuuttttt...I'm tired :P Thank you guys for your awesome reviews the other day! I feel so special (: Thanks for all the compliments (:**

**So yeah, hopefully I might get more of this done, because we're actually kind of getting snowed in down here...Oh! And before I forget...WE'RE ALIVE! The world didn't end on my b-day...Which would have REALLY sucked...Badly. I mean, I can't even drive yet! I would at least like to do THAT before I die! Though I suppose it is a bit of a stretch for the whole world to end in ONE day anyway...*shrugs* whatever. I'm just happy we get to have Christmas. Speaking of which Merry Christmas...Or Happy Hanukkah...Or Quanza..Or whatever you may celebrate (: I hope you enjoy it!**

**Love,**

**Kensi (I looked at the last chapter and guess you guys know my name now...smh. Jason. At least Stacy and James won't mess with this...I think :P)**


	18. Chapter 18

~Chapter 17~

***Present Time***

Gibbs wasn't for sure where to start. He was sitting at his desk, glaring at the computer screen as Ducky leaned casually against the bullpen wall, simply looking at him.

It was one of those moments where he realized how _annoying_ he must be at times. Who could stand having someone just looking at them without speaking for so long?

"Are you going to say anything?" he grouched at his friend and the elderly doctor shrugged.

"You called _me_ over here Jethro."

"Yeah, but you already know what I want to talk about."

"Ah, yes. The weather is rather lovely today isn't? Such a shame that next week it will turn nasty. You know back in my days of youth when I visited Zimbabwe-"

"Duck." Gibbs groaned and let his face fall into his hands.

"Jethro, you can't honestly expect me to sit here and give you answers if you won't even say the problem out loud yourself. I believe it was Freud who said 'the first step is to admit you have a problem'. Or was it John B. Watson? Heavens knows I forget…"

"I don't have a problem! It is more of a…complication."

"That is a synonym for problem Jethro." Ducky tutted and Gibbs pursed his lips, giving the elderly doctor a fierce glare before turning it onto the desk diagonal from him.

"Not going to say it." He muttered darkly under his breath. Ducky sighed. For such an accomplished person, Gibbs could really be a child sometimes.

"Think if it this way then. If this "not a problem" doesn't get fixed soon, Anthony could decide to leave us. We both know he gets other job offers. Could you imagine him walking around calling Tobias or some other person 'Boss'?" Ducky questioned and if the look in Gibbs' face was anything to go by, he had hit a nerve.

"He's _not_ going anywhere!"

"Really? I had no idea you had the right to decide for him whether he resigns or not. Contrary to popular belief Jethro, he _is_ a grown man who is perfectly capable of making decisions for himself, and personal loyalty can only be stretched so far." Taking a calming breath, Gibbs tapped his palms against his desk lightly, as if trying to make sure he didn't end up breaking anything.

"Duck, you can't honestly think that he would quit."

"I honestly do. He quit three other police stations before us, why not?"

"Because that was before _us_. Those other places he was at for two years. He's been here for five."

"And you're really willing to take that chance?"

It was a fair question. Was he? Normally, any chances would have been in Gibbs' favor and he would have never thought twice about it. This time though…

It was all so frustrating. He _hated_ the way it was nagging him, always at the back of his mind and gut. The way this whole situation was making him _feel_. Did he look like the kind of person who dealt with feelings? He was divorced three times for Christ sakes! If that didn't scream emotionally dead, what did?

"Well…What am I supposed to do?"

"Just _talk_ to him."

"Oh yeah. That clears it all up. What exactly am I supposed to _say_?"

"Good gracious Jethro! This _really_ isn't that hard! You just talk!"

Good lord, he wanted to scream. Talk? _Talk_? How was that conversation supposed to even start? He could only imagine all the ways it could go horribly wrong. Or get to sappy. And it wasn't as though Tony was into sentimental stuff either, at least not with him anyway.

"We don't need to talk though Duck. I can't ever really think of a conversation that has been more than a ten sentences." He shrugged and for a moment it looked as though the doctor was about to throw his hands up in the air and say 'forget it'! Instead though, he hit him with a rather stern look and gave a very deliberate glance towards Ziva's desk.

"Maybe not. But I can very much remember Caitlin wanting you to be more open with each other when she was alive. I wonder what she would say if she saw this."

It was low. It was _really_ low and Gibbs wanted to hit something the moment it left his mouth. His dead agent was a topic he simply did not want to think about. When he had first come back, it had been so confusing that he had accidently called Ziva Kate. It had taken him another full week to even remember who Kate was- and why she wasn't coming to work anymore.

Without saying another word, he got up and left the bullpen, Ducky opening his mouth to perhaps apologize, but then thought better of it. Managing to keep his cool, Gibbs stormed his way down back to autopsy room, startling the group of workers as he entered.

"You alright Boss?" Tim asked and instantly backed off when he saw Gibbs' livid face.

"Where's Ducky?" Tony cut in, ignoring his mentor's already ticked off demeanor. If possible, the look on Gibbs' face became uglier when he remembered the SFA was the whole reason for this mess in the first place.

Ignoring his agent, he snatched up his coffee and inhaled it, pretending to be oblivious to the silent argument the rest were having over who would be the one talking to Gibbs.

Tony lost.

"Should I finish the sto-" he started but was immediately cut off.

"No."

"Um, alright. Then maybe I should find where Ducky went off to-"

"No."

"Well what exactly should we do then?" Tony snapped out, sounding a little more peeved. Gibbs knew it should be expected that after hearing their history repeated and stripped down to the core for the world to hear, the kid's emotions would be a little harder to contain. Never the less, Gibbs was still on a high of anger.

"I don't know DiNozzo!" he ground out "Figure something out for yourself!" the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Tony's face snapped into a look of shock which quickly morphed into anger and confused hurt.

"Like you do?" he challenged and Gibbs raised his eyebrows. What was _that_ supposed to mean? "If you're so smart I guess you don't need me." He spat out and stood up, giving a cold look. "No wonder Shannon and Kelly are dead. You just can't help ticking people off can you?" he snarled and Gibbs froze.

Everyone in the room held their breath as Tony stormed out of the room, pushing past Ducky on his way out.

"My Anthony! What are you- Anthony? Tony?" he asked as the younger agent slammed the elevator buttons. "Jethro? What happened?" he asked and Gibbs too pushed out of the room, trying with every fiber in his body not to punch anything.

"We talked."

* * *

Tony had regretted it as soon as he was in the car. It only took that long for his anger to die down long enough for him to realize what he had done- what he had _said_.

There was no doubt in his mind that it had been a cruel thing to say. But part of him unjustly thought it was something Gibbs deserved to hear. Tony had enough self-respect to know he wasn't being treated fairly by his boss, and he didn't deserve it.

On the other hand…Shannon and Kelly had been too low for him to stoop to. It was his wife and daughter for Christ sakes! Why would he do that? It was wrong. Sick and wrong on so many levels.

Driving around the block didn't seem long enough for him to clear his head, so he decided to go a bit farther to wherever his precious baby took him.

Stupid. He was probably fired now- or at the very least transferred. He wondered what possessed him to say it. Gibbs cruel words or the story? Possibly both combined.

But it had struck a raw nerve. Figure something out for yourself? That stung harsher than any other jibe could possibly do. He could take head slaps and berating. He could stand being told certain things to a certain degree, but to figure something out for yourself? As if he had never done that before! The very thought blew him into another steaming rage as he raced downtown not noticing how high his speed was until blue and red lights flashed behind him.

"Aw, damnit." He muttered and pulled over, silently debating if he should pretend he was in the middle of an investigation or not- probably the last time he could use his badge anyway.

Lowering his window, he leaned over so he could see the scrawny officer more clearly.

"Sorry sir. I was ju- Sam?" he cut himself off, recognizing those beady black eyes and small cut frame. "Sam Gavotte?" the ex-agent leaned over to him, where instant acknowledgment washed over his small features.

"Tony DiNozzo." He grinned and let his head tip back into a laugh. "Jesus, has it been awhile since I've seen you!"

"I know! You left NCIS right after my first week you traitor! I had to fend for myself alone."

"Aw, you at least had Viv though."

"Yeah, yeah. She was always with the FBI and what not though." Tony grinned "So you're a cop now? How'd that work out?"

"Well, it's actually a long story dealing with a cat and three guns. You still with Gibbs?"

"Ha. Yeah. Though I'm not for sure for how much longer. We had a bit of a go at each other just now."

"That why you were going…Let's see, 90 mph in a 45 mile zone?" Sam asked and Tony let out a low whistle.

"Aw, damn. I'm sorry…I didn't realize…" he trailed off and his ex-partner shook his head.

"You know, most people say when you're angry to take a drive. That is a load of bull. You're gonna end up killing yourself, driving like that."

"I'm going to kill myself trying to figure out how to pay for all that." Tony sighed and leaned back, trying to ignore the new pounding in his head as Sam studied him over.

"Tell you what, I'll let it go this _once_ if you let me get you a drink sometime. We can catch up, Hell invite Vivian too."

"Sure thing." Tony grinned tiredly "Though Viv can't come. She's been fired for a couple years now." He sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he kind of missed her at times…

"Not too surprising." Sam shrugged "Gibbs is something else."

"Oh you have no idea." The agent muttered and looked at his friend. "Thanks Sam." He added earnestly and cop clapped him on the shoulder as a response.

"Be careful Tony." He warned and ripped out a sheet of paper "That's my number if you need anything 'kay?"

"Gotcha." The other man agreed, and rolled up the window.

* * *

Jeanne Beniot was having one of _those_ days. The day where simply nothing can nor will go right. And even when things seem to go right, there is always the other shoe waiting to drop. It was unbelievably frustrating.

She had lost two patients today. Two! The pain of it gnawed at her, working its way around her gut and heart. Jeanne was used to having patients die- it happened often in her line of work. It was simply part of life.

It didn't make it hurt any less though. Not to mention the fact it had been _her_ job to save them… It was thrown back into her face like she was some kind of failure… Maybe she was.

Trying to find a star in the cloudy night though, she thought gratefully to herself that she was lucky Tony had a job where death wasn't a common factor. The only gore he'd ever see was the cheesy special effects on screen.

Small mercies like that kept her going.

Jeanne didn't think she could stand seeing her boyfriend's face if he saw a corpse. He always seemed so…Innocent. It would be a crime to take that away from him.

"Doctor Beniot?" A small head poked up next to her and Jeanne gave a tired smile.

"Yeah?"

"You have your lunch break now." The woman said and the doctor wanted to cry in relief.

"Thank you Macy." She told her and practically ran from the room, her cell phone already hitting the speed dial button.

After a few rings trumpets blared and a small smile hinted at her face as she heard it.

_"This is Professor Anthony DiNardo. I'm unavailable right now, but if you leave a message I _will_ get back to you."_

Sighing, she snapped the phone shut, knowing it would be no use to leave a message. He was probably in a lecture anyway.

"Who was that?" a voice from behind her asked, startling her. Tony was leaning casually against the wall, watching her with a look of pure exhaustion.

"Some annoying guy I met a little while back." She shrugged "Thought I might give him a call, but he won't answer."

"Huh. Maybe that annoying guy wanted to see you in person. It kind of sucks hearing a beautiful voice without seeing the face you know."

"Oh, it must be so hard for you." She teased and instantly relaxed as he embraced her. God, god, god, she needed this. This and a vacation far, far away with just the two of them on some warm island…

"You have _no_ idea." He murmured as she popped her chin up on his chest so she could look at him.

"Bad day?" she asked

"The worst. You?"

"Kind of like _Pyscho_."

"Mine was a bit like_ Dreamscape_."

"Haven't heard of it."

"Aw, we got to take you to the movies then. 1984, directed by Joseph Ruben. Brilliant plot, though the execution was a bit flat. Basically a wonderful horror movie." Tony beamed at her and Jeanne smiled.

"And how was your day like _Dreamscape_ exactly?" she asked and watched as he face plunged into a look of fatigue once more.

"You first." He offered and Jeanne shrugged, leading him to their usual spot in the park they had ended up walking to.

"I lost two patients today." She sighed "and my little six year old, Cara, is getting worse by the day too." She tried not to let her emotions spill over as her eyes zeroed in on the ground. It was hard though, especially thinking about the little girl struggling for her life in the hospital right now. If Jeanne could do more for her, she would in a heartbeat, but at this point, all she could literally do is hope and pray.

"I'm sorry." Tony told her quietly and she welcomed his arms pulling her closer to him, inhaling the smell of his shirt, which oddly enough, smelled a lot like her at the moment. Possibly because he'd spent so much time at her apartment in the last couple months.

"I just…It's hard." She admitted "I try to help them, but at one point I know I can't do anymore. Yet I still feel guilty every time. If I had maybe just did something- I don't even know what, but _something_ different than maybe…"

"Then maybe they would have died sooner." Tony cut her off "You can't carry that around. It'll drive you crazy. Just think about the ones you _did_ save. Like remember Peter? He got hit by a truck and his whole body failed, and you brought him back. Or that 83 year old woman- Martha? She just flat out died and you know what? I could have sworn I saw her kickboxing across the street the other day. For an old woman she really has a mean swing." He teased and Jeanne couldn't help but give the smallest of laughs at the visual of her sweet little patient kickboxing anyone.

"Everyone dies at some point." Tony shrugs "You just have to learn to let go and move on."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about." Jeanne frowned, remembering her thoughts earlier. When would her sweet boyfriend have seen somebody die?

"My mom. My sister. My friend. They all died when I was young- Well not my friend, that was actually only a couple years ago." He told her and his grip tightened around her shoulders.

"What happened?" she asked, her eyes widening in horror. That wasn't just one person- that was three! Three people who would have been close to him too.

"My mom died when I was eight, cancer. My sister was killed when I was twelve, and Kate…Well Kate is a long story." He told her flatly.

"We're you two…?" Jeanne asked, slightly distastefully. She knew that the poor girl was dead, and it wasn't fair of her to think ill of her like that, but it would bother her a lot if she didn't know.

"Nah. I mean, maybe we would have later… But you know. She died. Guess it is one of those 'what if' things. I have a fish named after her."

"A fish?"

"Yep. A goldfish. She's a pretty awesome pet. Never complains, or anything like that." He told her and Jeanne laughed, letting her body relax slightly.

"Really? You always struck me as a dog kind of person."

"Please, if I had a dog it would die from the lack of attention. Or end up like Cujo in that Stephen King movie. Classic by the way." He informed her, stretching out.

"Seen it. Thought it was a bit cheesy myself. Now it's your turn. How was your day bad?" Jeanne asked and took note of how her boyfriend's face darkened.

"My boss again. At work we we're all kind of messing around you know? And somehow we got into this story about how I got hired at the university. Gibbs just kind of picked me up one day from some local college and brought me over here. So he leaves with Ducky- and then comes back totally ticked off. Tim is there you know, staying for tutorial. The kid can't remember who directed _The Titanic_, bless him. Anyways, Gibbs comes back and Timmy asked what was wrong. Naturally Gibbs gets all snarky and I just kind of jumped in and asked him what we were waiting for. Are we going to finish the story or do something else? Next thing I know, he's snapping at me, and I blew up and made a comment about his wife and daughter I probably shouldn't have."

"He has a family?"

"They're dead. I told him it was no wonder since he's ticked so many people off." Tony sighed and looked at her as if waiting for her to give him a disgusted look.

"What did he say?"

"I don't know. I left and came here." Tony shrugged and Jeanne bit her lip. She wasn't for sure about his co-workers. Not really. They all seemed a bit… Cruel to her at times, but they meant so much to Tony so she tried not to criticize.

"Well…You should probably talk to him." She started but cut herself off at his incredulous look.

"Jeanne, this man does not _talk_. He's a functional mute and we both hate sappy stuff."

"You don't have to write him a poem Tony. Tell him how you feel."

"I _feel_ like that wouldn't go over well." He told her and rolled his eyes "The guy is a bit crazy. He keeps a boat at the bottom of his basement. One of these days he's just going to learn not communicate telepathically or something. That's how much he talks."

"He won't have to talk. You will." Jeanne suggested and Tony made a face. "Should I go with you? Cause you know, I kind of want to meet this guy."

"Nope!" he yelped, suddenly jumping up "Uh, you shouldn't meet him yet. I have feeling that when I see him next, punches might be thrown."

The comment didn't surprise Jeanne in the least. One of these days, she was going to have to meet his co-workers, and she already had a couple choices of words planned for each of them.

They were cut short by her phone beeping, telling her Cara was hitting a relapse back in the hospital.

"Go. She needs you." Tony had said. It was nice not hearing him say 'she'll be fine' like others might have proposed. He seemed to understand that Cara could die any second.

It was only after she was at the hospital, she realized how much lighter she felt.

* * *

"Gibbs?" Tony called out, closing the door behind him. The house seemed relatively empty, but the NCIS agent knew his boss was there.

Making his way to the basement, Tony mentally prepared himself for the conversation. He was sure a lot of yelling was going to be involved- but not much else. Hopefully no tears or blood would be shed.

"Gibbs?" he called out a little more quietly as he descended down the stairs.

His boss was still in his work clothes, sanding intently. Gibbs had no expression on his face and didn't even acknowledge his SFA as he came over towards him, just continued to sand. Tony noted with a bit of relief, there was no bourbon in sight.

"I'm guessing that 'sorry' isn't going to cut it." He commented as he pulled up a chair and flipped it around, so that when he sat his front was leaning against the back of the chair.

No response.

"I didn't mean it…" he started awkwardly at let his voice trail off, knowing how stupid he must sound. Gibbs still didn't respond, and Tony knew he was in deep.

"It wasn't your fault." He said decidedly and waited. When again, nothing was said from his superior he sighed.

"Gibbs, I'm not going to leave." He told him, and Gibbs finally slammed down the sander, glaring daggers at his agent.

"What do you _want_?" he snapped at him, and Tony wondered if he had been tuned out the entire time.

"You're pissed." He shrugged "I get it. I shouldn't have said anything, and sure as hell shouldn't have said it when I have no idea what I'm talking about." He replied and ventured a bit further "The only thing I could really say in my defense is that when you keep pushing like that, I had to snap eventually."

"So bringing my family into this was to get even?"

"No, I just wanted to say something that would hurt for once." He told him quietly and Gibbs eyed him over distastefully. "It was low." Tony added "I'm sorry." At this point, Gibbs seemed to accept the fact that his Senior Field Agent was not about to leave, and sat at the edge of his boat.

"Okay." Was his only response.

"Am I allowed to ask what had you so ticked off when you came in?" Tony inquired and Gibbs said nothing again. "Guess that would be a no." Tony sighed and decided he would turn and take a leaf out of his boss's book.

Nothing was said between either men for about five minutes before Gibbs realized that Tony was trying to tell him it was his turn to speak.

"You want to talk about Mexico?" he asked uncomfortably the anger having been dimmed for the moment.

"I wouldn't say _want_…" Tony offered quietly and looked back at his Boss with pleading eyes to not make this any more difficult that it already was.

"Me leaving or coming back?"

"Both." Tony responded honestly and Gibbs waited for him to elaborate. "I get why you did it. I understand that part. I guess, it kind of took me surprise. Peoria, Philly, Baltimore- I always left first. I would be the person who abandoned ship, because I didn't want to be the one left behind. Then I came here and…I didn't think I needed to worry about that." There was pause in which Tony looked as though he was organizing his words for a moment before speaking again.

"Then there was the way you left. Like I said, I get it. But I mean, you had never once told me I was ready to lead and then suddenly you hand me the team. I had absolutely no clue what to do. I guess I always figured that when I did get my own team you would still be around to help me figure it out…" he said his voice trailing off slowly. He paused before squirming, practically wishing he could bolt for the door, but forced himself to finish.

"Abby, Ziva, Tim, Ducky- they all were having a rough time getting used to you gone and I didn't really know what to do about that. I took your spot and I'm pretty sure they hated me for it. Like I said I didn't really know what I was doing, so I just kind of tried to do what you did. Figured that if it worked for you, it might work for me, you know? In the end that didn't go well- Abby, Ziva, and Tim kept telling me that I was trying to be you too much. I don't know, maybe I was. Towards the end I think I had I figured out though. I guess that was why it was such a slap in the face to have you come back. I had _just_  
had it all getting better and BAM! Suddenly my stuff is in a pile on my old desk and you're there again- and there was nothing wrong with that- I just kind of got really confused again on what to do. I mean, you weren't exactly your old self." There was another space in which Tony looked at his mentor in such a way that clearly said _I did it. Now you do it._

But what was there really to say? Gibbs couldn't really disagree with anything, or correct him. It just seemed like a waste of air to agree with the obvious. Racking his mind, he tried to think of something-anything to fill in the moments of silence that passed.

"I thought you did a good job while I was gone." He offered and Tony's eyebrows shot up into his hair.

"You weren't there." He scowled and Gibbs couldn't help but grin.

"You don't think I have my sources?" he asked and was secretly pleased at the small smile that hinted at Tony's face.

"Guess so." He said and Gibbs bit the end of his tongue, replaying Tony's short monologue in his head.

"I'm sorry." The words obviously took Tony by surprise, who looked positively shocked. Gibbs decided to use it to his advantage and continue "Can't really say I was thinking about anyone else at the time aside from me. It should have been my job to at least help out when I dumped all of that on you, thought you could handle it." He realized at that last second, how the last sentence came out and mentally head slapped himself.

"I _did_ handle it." Tony spat out defensively and Gibbs tried to give what he hoped would be an apologetic look. Couldn't really tell though considering he'd never given one before. "So, what exactly did I _do_?" Tony asked, a little more ire in his voice now.

"Do?"

"To get you to hate me? You've been treating me like crap Boss."

"Damn, DiNozzo. You didn't do anyth-"

"Oh, so I'm just your punching bag then?" Tony snapped, anger lighting his eyes. Gibbs cursed himself, realizing how his slip-up affected his protégé.

"No-"

"Ugh, this is useless. We had the same conversation in the gym." Tony hissed, sounding frustrated. Gibbs frowned, wondering when he had gotten this uptight. At closer inspection, he noticed the tired lines on his friend's face and the insomniac look in his eyes.

"Tony…" he started slowly, making sure to use his preferred name. "When was the last time you slept?"

Slept? Tony thought back, trying to answer honestly, despite the anger that was boiling in his stomach. It was funny, he was sure he had gotten some last night, but… He couldn't really remember.

"Slept?" he repeated blankly, trying to have some answer pop into his mind. To his hindrance, none arrived.

"Jenny." Gibbs suddenly growled and Tony gave him a wary look.

"You lost it again. I'm Tony, remember?"

"Were you with Jenny last night?"

"Uh…There is _nothing_ like that going on between us boss-"

"_DiNozzo!_"

"_What_?" he asked exasperatedly. "Gibbs, you _know_ I can't tell you!" and under his breath he muttered "Don't know if I even would want to." Unfortunately for both of them, Gibbs heard and narrowed his gaze. It was just becoming too much. The forced "talks", Jenny screwing with _his_ agent, that god damn _stupid_ story, the arguing! Part of him wanted to punch a wall for this being too freakin _hard_. There was a reason why he became a marine and a federal agent. You weren't supposed to deal with feelings. There was a bad guy, and you get him. It was as simple as it comes. Then people like _DiNozzo_ come along and make it harder!

After having his thoughts cut off by ringing, Gibbs snapped open his phone, still glaring filthily at Tony.

"Gibbs."

"Jethro? Where are you? Where is Anthony?" Ducky's voice rang over the line and suddenly there was the sound of the phone exchanging hands.

"Hello? Jethro?" Ah, just the person he wanted to hear.

"Jenny we're done with this. You pull him the hell off or I'll-"

"Where are you?" she interrupted and Gibbs gave a heated sigh.

"You pull him-" he said, getting back to his topic.

"Special Agent Gibbs! This is an _order_. Get back to the base with your agent _alive_. Now." She practically yelled at him and Gibbs hung up, unable to take anymore of her stupid orders.

"Where are you going?" he snapped at Tony who was trudging his way up the stairs.

"Back to the Navy Yard. We have orders." Tony replied coldly and Gibbs waited until the door slammed before kicking the side of the wall.

This talking thing sucked.

* * *

**Hey everyone (: I am so sorry for the late update...Again. This time, it was all me and my stubborness. This was a really long chapter and I had insisted on writing it without any help...Which consisted of my taking a pencil between my hands and typing like that...Needless to say it was really hard (Though I did have help from Jason on about half of it :P).**

**So yeah. I'm here now though! And also caught up on the last episode :P I can't decided if I liked it or not though...On one hand I thought it was adorable. Especially the part with Tony's goldfish, Kate. I practically cried. But then other parts of it made me shake my head...Oh, and WHY Ziva?! Did anyone else notice that she had Tony's boarding school picture taped up on her computer?...I hate that picture -_-**

**Ah well...Remember to review! I am so close to being finished I see the end! (:**


	19. Chapter 19

~Chapter 19~

***Present Time***

"Are you going to tell me where you've been?" Jenny snapped as she watched the rest of her employees reassemble.

"Nope." Gibbs told her, and leaned casually against the wall. "What do talk you need to me about Jen?"

"You cannot just go running off." She spat at him, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her wrist tightly to ease her stress.

"We're not in the middle of an investigation. Besides, you let DiNozzo do it all the time. Though, I bet you know exactly where he is when _that_ happens."

"I don't care if you are in an investigation or not Jethro, you are on my time-"

"We were sitting around telling a story Jen. I don't see why you are upset about me leaving." He told her and watched as his old partner took a deep breath.

"Jethro…" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I need to keep an eye on Tony."

"For your top secret project."

"Yes. Jethro, what this operation is about… It is important. I _need_ him."

"He isn't a tool Jenny." Gibbs told her, slightly exasperated. Part of him wondered why he was still defending his wayward agent after their recent blow out. He supposed no matter how angry DiNozzo made him at times, he could never truly ever leave him to suffer like that.

"I know that." She said defensively "I also know that _he_ knows what he got into. _He_ can pull himself out if he needs to. I'm not holding him gunpoint here." Ignoring her last statement, Gibbs walked into autopsy, paying no attention to the immediate hush of his co-workers. From behind him, Jenny gave an irritated huff and followed suit into the room.

"Are…You alright?" Ziva asked tentatively, dark eyes soaking up his disheveled appearance. Feeling his eyes soften vaguely he nodded and sat down, Jenny taking her seat opposite from him.

"Where's Tony?" McGee spoke up, his face slightly pinched with worry as he glanced around for his partner. Remembering Tony's words of how Ziva, Tim, and Abby seemed to hate him while he was gone- It seemed impossible at this moment in time when McGee was looking around like a five year old would his big brother. However, Gibbs couldn't deny he hadn't seen the tension between them when he got back. McGee and Ziva mocking him constantly, ignoring direct orders, and so forth. It was times like these that Tony showed amazing maturity.

"Right here." The doors were swished back open and Tony walked into the room, with his face even more tired looking then it did in the basement. Gibbs supposed that was due to the brighter lights, and wondered how he could have never noticed before. No one spoke and Jenny made a motion for him to go sit down, giving him the smallest of smiles. Tony hesitated, andthen, to probably everyone's surprise, ignored the empty seat next to the director and sat next to Gibbs, his eyes not meeting his Boss. Gibbs supposed it was the kid's way of saying 'sorry' again.

"Well…It seems as if everyone is here." Ducky began awkwardly, twiddling his thumbs. "Does anyone remember where-"

"Tony was at the hospital and Scarlett had a talk with Gibbs." Abby interjected, looking dangerously close to tears as she saw the tension between all of her family members.

"Ah, yes. Well-" Ducky began.

"I remember this part too." Abby interrupted "This is where Alex talks to Tony and it was really sad."

"Um…That is right Abigail, I beli-"

"It was where Tony walking down the hall…"

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"Alright Anthony, can you please just take one more deep breath for me?" Dr. Bengel asked and her patient gave a cold look.

"Tony. My name is _Tony_." He stressed, feeling as though he had corrected the woman six too many times "and I've taken like, a million deep breaths." He sighed and breathed in again. God, how he hated hospitals. They always seemed to bring out the worst in him.

"Actually, it has only been three breaths Anthony." His doctor murmured as she listened to his heart. "Very good. Alright, if all goes well, we could check you out be tonight. Would that be good?"

"That would be the height of my day sweetheart." Tony told her and flopped back onto his bed. He glared at the IV that was sitting across the room. He forgot how often that was threatened to go back into him, but it was enough to make him detest the thing. The Detective watched as his doctor left the room, her stern face watching him closely for any signs he might run off. Apparantly seeing none, she continued her exit solemnly.

"Knock, knock." A voice called from the doorway and Tony let an internal wince.

"Hey Scarlett." He said quietly, without looking up.

"Hey there." She said, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. Tony glanced up at her face, trying to detect the bits of resentment he was waiting to see in there. When he found none, he frowned, wondering why this woman didn't start telling him how much she hated him yet.

"I wanted to talk to you about something…" she started and Tony sat up attentively. This was it, he knew it. She was going to tell him how he failed her family and was going to want him to give something to make up for that. And the sad thing was, he was willing to give her just about anything to gain her forgiveness- and his own.

"Go ahead." He said as gently as he could muster, trying to keep his voice as supportive as possible. Scarlett gave a ghost of a smile but didn't comment on the tone.

"Hon, Alex isn't going to come back to work." She told him and Tony felt a wave of shock go through him. He wasn't for sure whether it was from her _not_ yelling at him, or because of the words she had just said.

"But…He's going to get better? Right?" he asked, for once not caring that he sounded like an innocent five year old instead of a grown detective.

"Of course he is. Alex is going to be fine, but he's retiring after this." The words spun themselves around, and Tony was tempted to ask _why_? But it would have been a stupid question. He knew the why. The question that seemed more suitable for himself to ask was 'now what?'

He didn't ask that though. At the moment, Tony didn't really care what happened to him after this. He didn't care if they sent him to work in dump or some city no one had ever heard of. He just wanted to see his partner. His friend. His family, basically.

"Can I…See him?" he asked warily and Scarlett smiled, giving him a nod before exiting the door so that Tony could stumble behind.

It was absloutely amazing how long halls can seem when you are exhausted.

* * *

***Present Time***

"Thank you for that Abigail." Ducky told her flatly as she finished. The Goth blinked and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Oh sorry Duckman! I didn't mean to tell everyone what happened!" she cried out and turned to tell Gibbs and Tony sorry when she froze and let out an 'awww'.

"That is _adorable_!" she quietly squealed and Gibbs gave her a dirty look. He wasn't for sure at what time DiNozzo had fallen asleep, but Gibbs knew it was about five minutes ago when Tony's head had fallen on his shoulder. Part of the senior agent was _very_ tempted to push him off- DiNozzo was still far from forgiven yet- but the other half of him told him that if he woke his agent up, the man would fight going back to sleep even if he did need it. So he sighed and let the kid dream on.

"Can I take a picture?" Abby asked, looking dotingly upon the scene.

"No." Gibbs grouched and threw a look at Jenny that said something along the lines of _this is all your fault!_

"He is tired…" Ziva noted with narrowed eyes and turned to Ducky. "He has been going to the hospital." She told him accusingly and the elderly doctor frowned.

"Really? Since when?" he asked and Gibbs rolled his eyes. Ziva's obsessiveness over where her partner has been was rather troubling in some ways. Gibbs knew that Tony didn't have the plague again- He had seen DiNozzo when he had the plague. The kid hadn't started coughing, or taking deep breaths, or sweating, or any other of the symptoms the early plague showed.

Still Ziva insisted she saw a hospital band around his wrist, and he was bringing samples, and calling repetitively. Could he be sick with something else perhaps?

"Agent DiNozzo is fine." Jenny jumped in "I had him update me on all his medical files last week." Oh really? So did this undercover operation of hers have to do with hospitals? Nodding decisively, Gibbs stored the information for later.

"But Director-"

"He is fine Officer David." Jenny snapped, looking at her friend with slight annoyance. Oh yeah. She knew alright.

"So…" Palmer said, looking around cumbersomely. "Tony saw Alex?"

"Oh! Yes, yes. Abigail, would you like to finish my dear?"

"Nah Ducky, I didn't mean to tell it. And I'm sorry I did. I just wanted to tell them that I remembered what happened next. Oh, and I remember what happened after that too!"

"Uh, Abby-"

"After that Tony went to go see Alex…."

* * *

***Ten Years Ago***

"Hey there kid."

"Hey Alex." Tony said, sounding exhausted as he collapsed into the nearest plastic chair of the hospital room. A heart monitor beeped steadily in the corner along with many other machines that his friend was hooked up to. Along the walls were flowers and cards, all of which from family, friends, and collegues wishing him a speedy recovery and their sincerest condelences. Tony couldn't help but selfishly feel slightly jealous, thinking of his own room which was bare to last grain of sand on the floor.

"Came to see me in all my glory?" Alex asked lightly and Tony tried to give a small smile, but couldn't seem to manage it at the depressed state of his partner's voice.

"Alex, I'm so sor-"

"Say it and I'll shove my pills down your throat." He warned dangerously and Tony sighed.

"But I should have been faster. I should ha-"

"Should shut your mouth before I sew it together." Alex told him helpfully and the younger man rolled his eyes, but stopped his speech. "I don't blame you for a damn thing." He told him smartly and took a long calming breath. "Not for…Vanessa…or….Rachel…" he choked out painfully and Tony just wanted strangle himself for the pure agony his partner was in.

"Alex…"

"The one thing I _will_ blame you for, is if you don't get your ass out of Baltimore by next week." He said and Tony's head snapped up.

"What?"

"You heard me." He said and Tony simply just looked at him, flabbergasted. Alex looked him over once more and sighed. "Tony, you know I'm not coming back." Looking down at the ground warily, Tony nodded.

"Yeah. I know."

"Don't stay in Baltimore. You know how Berkley is." Alex told him and the Detective made a face, thinking about the Captain of the PD. It was only after Tony's first week that it was decided the captain and him were mortal enemies. Tony knew that if he stayed, Berkley would find a new partner for him that would make his life a living hell.

"Any suggestions?"

"NCIS."

"He already asked. I said no." Tony admitted and from the corner of the room, Scarlett chuckled without humor.

"We know."

"You know?"

"Yeah sweetheart. When you get to be my age, you know just about everything." She told him and Tony looked over at Alex in confusion.

"Just go along with it." He said quietly and Tony turned back Scarlett and nodded.

* * *

"So…What exactly are we doing here again?" Vivan asked as she looked at her Boss with skepticism. Gibbs ignored her, leaning back as he swallowed another mouthful of coffee. He inhaled the smell, trying to ignore his peering agents.

They sat in silence for another total of ten minutes, Sam fidgeting restlessly and Viv giving fierce glares as she tapped her foot impatiently.

Gibbs supposed he could have sent his team back already, but he wasn't going to lie, he kind of liked having them guessing. Besides, DiNozzo should be out any minute by now…

"Gibbs!" Bingo. The lead agent looked up to see the kid scrambling down the hall, as if the older man was about to leave him. "Gibbs." He said again once he caught up. "I wanted to…" there was a pause in which Tony tried to catch his breath from the run down the hall.

"Monday morning. 6 on the dot. If you're late, don't bother showing." He told him and Tony glanced up, confusion written on his face.

"How did you…?" he asked and shook his head "You're a devious man Gibbs." He said and Gibbs shrugged.

"See ya DiNozzo." He said and gestured the others to follow him out the door. Before he exited though, he turned around to look at the kid one last time and reconsider his decision.

"And Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave this hospital without being checked out. That's an order." Tony blinked at the use of his first name and grinned.

"Got ya Boss."

* * *

***Present time***

"…and that was how it happened." Abby grinned and the froze once again, turning to Ducky. "Sorry." She said, covering her mouth again "It all kind of slipped out." Ducky made a face, but quickly changed it into a fond smile and shook his head.

"Wow…That was…Something." Jimmy commented, turning to tell his friend something, but paused when he saw Tony was still fast asleep and grinned. He really wished Abby would risk Gibbs' wrath and take a picture of the scene.

"I cannot believe Tony did not speak of this before." Ziva frowned, looking at her partner warily. She knew very well Tony could be secretive- He had been the past couple weeks well enough- but she couldn't understand why Tony wouldn't have told them this before now.

"Oh that's nothing." Abby bubbled "You should have seen him when he first came here! That was _awesome_!"

"When he first came here?"

"Oh yeah. I mean, it was really fun. There was Ducky who kicked this guy's ass! I mean, full out karate style! Then, there Gerald singing lullabies and Sam fell off the building. It was amazing. Oh, oh, oh! And Vivan almost got eaten by a shark!"

"This all happened in his first month?"

"First week."

"Ducky, you know karate?" Ziva asked, alarmed and the elderly man chuckled.

"Abigail is exaggerating, it was nothing that impressive I assure you."

"Yeah right." Abby grinned and the two junior agents exchanged flabbergasted looks.

"Did Gibbs call Tony probie?" Tim jumped in, looking eager.

"Nah, Viv called him _Piccolo_ though."

"Um…What?" Tim asked as Ziva let out a short bark of laughter.

"It means 'little one' in Italian." She explained and Abby nodded, still bubbling.

"Viv felt really smart on that one. Everyone else thought it was kind of stupid though."

"It was." Gibbs grumbled, slowly trying sneak a pillow Ducky had given him under Tony's head without trying to wake him up. Everyone stopped the conversation momentarily to watch in amusement. Rolling his eyes, Gibbs turned to give them a glare, somehow managing not to wake the sleeping agent as he finally got the kid off of him and laying down.

"Think he's ready to go and do your chores Director?" he saracastically asked Jenny quietly so the others couldn't hear and ignored her lethal look in return.

"I want him healthy too Jethro." She spat back at him and Gibbs didn't even feel like replying to the naïve comment.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group paid them no mind, as Abby began to talk more about Tony's first case at NCIS. Tim was grinning widely, already storing away any scrap of information away to torment his partner as Ziva's eyes glittered with mischievous laughter, no doubt also planning on giving their friend Hell.

"Well, I suppose we could always take the time and tell _that_ story as well." Ducky mentioned and the others nodded in agreement.

"Gibbs….Yeah, okay." Gibbs said as he picked up a now ringing cellphone and turned to the rest of the team. "Gear up. We got a body." He said and the team scrambled to the elevator leaving the two medical examiners, Abby, and the director.

"What about Tony?" Abby asked as she looked at the sleeping agent and Gibbs frowned, crouching down beside the agent.

"DiNozzo." He said shaking the younger man. "Tony…" Shaking his head, Gibbs did the next best thing and pushed his SFA off the chair, listening for the yelp that indicated the man was now awake.

"Ow! What the-? Gibbs!"

"We got a case. You finished sleeping on the job DiNozzo?" he asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice once he saw the mused hair that Tony no doubt would have a fit over once he saw it.

"On it." Tony yawned and rubbed his eyes "Dang, did I really fall asleep?"

"It was adorable Tony!" Abby interjected before Gibbs had a chance to answer. "We were just finishing up telling how you got hired and then I looked over and you were all asleep on Gibbs. It was sooooo cute!" she beamed and a flash of confusion and embarrassment spread quickly across Tony's face as well as a good dose of horrification.

"Uh…Sorry Boss." He told him, his face flaming red and from across the room, he could almost hear Jimmy and Ducky's laughter as the grabbed the bag for the truck.

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs sighed and held out a hand to help him off the ground. He figured the two had a long way before the two were on the same page again. It might take a couple steaks, beers, and a lot of boat building and bourbon to smooth everything they had gotten themselves into, but if Tony was still half the man he hired, they would get there. Gibbs could only hope he was still the same guy Tony had agreed to work for. Something must have showed on his face, because a small smile graced the other agent's lips and Gibbs had a flashback of him leaving the hospital in Baltimore.

"Got ya Boss."

* * *

**Aw...I thought the last part was sentimental (: Thoughts you guys? Well, I'm thinking that's the last chapter for this story! I'll defintely have a sequel. It shall be called...Wavering Washington (Name is a courtesy of Mythologyrox). Basically, it'll be about Tony's first days at NCIS and also Gibbs/Tony offically repaired relationship, since I obviously left a few things unresolved on this one. Oh, and I'll be answering a lot of questions about Tony's sister, Amelia ,on that one too. Just a few things like how she died and stuff...**

**Okay. I watched Shabbot Shalom and Shiva the other night. Heart=Broken. I just...Part of me died a little. When Ziva yelled 'Abba' and he was dead and...and..Yeah. That was an emotional mess for me. I had to go off and eat ice cream by myself. I also thought Tony was really sweet and caring in Shiva (: I kind of wanted to see Ziva's reaction to meeting Kate the fish, but they didn't have that in there. Dang. I suppose that with all the Hell she was going through, that may have not been appropriate...**

**Last thing before I go! As I am writing my next story, there shall be one more as well! It is called Left Behind. I had an amazing person contact me (namesdMythologyrox) and ask me to do this story for her and...I loved it. So I wrote it. It has lots more Tony and Gibbs in it and...Well, I can't explain it very well, you would have to read it (; Anyways, those should be up soon. Please review and tell me what you think and stay tune for my next two stories which shall be up this week!**

**Lots of love,**

**Kensi **


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